A Summer at Camp Arendelle
by Ceuriss
Summary: Elsa has been a camp counselor at her father's camp for three years when a first-year counselor shows up and wreaks havoc on her feelings. AU. Elsanna, not sisters.
1. New

Summer had to be Elsa's least favorite season, she realized as she wiped away the small beads of sweat that were forming on her forehead as the sun beat down on her. The only reason she tolerated the season outdoors was because her father asked her to help out as a councilor for the camp. Elsa sighed. It wasn't even summer yet, and the heat was nigh unbearable.

She walked calmly down the paved tarmac, pulling the straps on her backpack a little tighter against her back. The books inside weren't that heavy, but after walking the nearly two miles across camp, her shoulders were feeling a bit weary. Trees loomed up ahead as the tarmac pathway ran into a forest. Shade was a welcome commodity for the girl.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…"

Elsa stopped. She could hear someone cursing rather loudly up ahead. Her eyes scanning the trees, quickly finding a bright yellow t-shirt that stood out amongst the green trees. A girl with plaited red hair was hanging from a thin limb of a tree, nearly twenty feet in the air. She was shrieking now followed by a sickening creak of snapping wood.

"Hold on!" Elsa shouted, dropping her backpack in an instant to sprint down the path. The branch was about to give, the girl was going to fall onto the brutally hard path. _Run faster, dammit, Elsa. _Thankful for four years of track, Elsa put on a burst of speed, closing the gap between herself and the girl desperately clinging to the limb.

_Crack. _The tree's limb gave it's finally fight against gravity and the girl's weight and came crashing down to the earth. Elsa reached out desperately as the girl flew to the ground. Her judgment had been a bit off, Elsa realized. Instead of landing in her arms, the girl collided into Elsa's chest, bringing them both to the ground in a hasty tumble.

Elsa opened her eyes, slowly, drawing in a labored breath after being crushed by the red-headed girl. _The fuck just happened…? _Suddenly she realized that the girl had fallen on her and was now laying across her. She scrambled up, helping the fallen girl up.

"Are you alright?" Elsa said, finally getting a good look at the girl that had squashed the ever-living daylights out of her. _Oh my… freckles._

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was dumb," the red-headed girl said, looking down and brushing off the dirt from her bright yellow shirt and denim shorts. When she looked up, her turquoise eyes grew wide as she looked at Elsa. "Uh, wow, hello."

"Hello," Elsa said, her heart suddenly doing somersaults as she looked at the girl up and down before quickly averting her eyes, finding that the tree stump to her right was very interesting. "What - why were you in that tree?" Elsa's blue eyes were still trained away from the slender girl in front of her.

"Oh, I just wanted to see what the camp looked like from up above, but I couldn't get up high enough, and then the branch broke, and then another branch broke, and here we are!" The girl threw her arms into the air, gesturing to the both of them standing there.

"I see," Elsa said tentatively. "Are you a camper?"

The girl chuckled whole-heartedly because stopping half way through to an awkward laugh. She rubbed her arm. "Do I really look young enough to be a camper? Oh dear… I'm actually a counselor this summer."

Elsa pulled her hand to her mouth, trying to not release a small laugh. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize. I'm Elsa Arendelle, also a camp counselor."

The girl smiled. "Anna. Anna Frifalk."

Elsa couldn't help but feel the blush rise to her cheeks as Anna smiled. _Stop it, Elsa. Not cool. _She bit the inside of her cheek hard and her self-control kicked in. "Nice to meet you, Anna." _Get out of there, before you say something stupid._

"You have beautiful freckles." _What the hell was that? _Elsa mentally berated herself. _Abort mission. _"But, yeah. I've got to go. My father wanted to me do the thing where I set up the Lodge. Yeah, that's it. Okay, gotta go." With that, Elsa dashed off quickly back to her dropped backpack, missing the small, content goodbye wave from Anna.

Elsa felt her skin flush violently as she turned her back from Anna, clutching her sides as she ran. _That couldn't have gone any worse. _Elsa thought as she neared the backpack that lay limp on the ground. Standing away from it, she could see how ratty and tattered the bag had become. It once was a pristine white leather; a gift from her father. Now it was a dingy beige color with the leather nearly disintegrating in places from the intense wear and tear of everyday life as well as three years as a camp counselor. Elsa didn't have the heart to give it up.

Sliding the delicate, worn straps onto her back, she inhaled, feeling the familiar weight of the straps against her body. Elsa decided that it would be best to walk the long way around to avoid another confrontation with the ridiculously adorable Anna. Before she had gone far, she thought she heard shouting.

"Elsa! Wait up!" It was Anna.

_Oh no, shit. Shit. Hide, before you say something ridiculously mental again. She probably already thinks your a freak. _Elsa was too slow to move from the spot as Anna jogged up to her. The red-headed girl smiled, lighting up her whole face in an array of dazzling white teeth.

"If you're going to the Lodge… isn't it that way?" Anna pointed in the direction Elsa had originally been walking before Anna's rapid departure from the tree had happened. She felt like a deer in the headlights with her heart pounding. _Why is this happening to me? Oh man, why couldn't I just be normal?_

"Oh, you're right. I guess— I guess I was a little shaken up after your kind of squashed me." It was more a question than a statement.

Anna let a small, quiet giggle, her cheeks a faint tint of red. "Sorry about that."

Elsa couldn't help but smile, "S'okay."

"I was actually heading to the Lodge before I got distracted by the tree. Wanna walk there with me?"

Every hardwired thought in her brain was saying no, but her mouth had other plans. "Sure. Lead on!"

_Please just keep your mouth shut._

As they walked, Anna was a nonstop chatter box and Elsa quietly nodded. She tried so very hard not to say anything at all, lest she freak Anna out. That was not on her list of things to do, ever. The nervous tension of just being around her was driving her crazy, though.

"… And then I said, 'Why the fuck was he wearing a pink apron?'" Anna stopped, nearly brimming over with laughter that she couldn't even walk in a straight line. Anna could not even finish the punch line to her own story and Elsa was smiling at the girl's adorable way of narrating things, but never getting anywhere for her own laughter interrupting her.

_She's a total dork. A total perfect dork. _

By the time the two reached the stairs to the Lodge, Anna was clutching her sides from laughing so hard and Elsa was fighting back her laughter. _Anna is pretty. Yes. Wait, Anna is pretty funny. Yeah, that's what it was._

"Alright, I've gotta head down to the game room to do some sort of planning, I think. See ya later?" Anna said as the two stood on a platform with stairs that led up as well as stairs that led down.

Elsa felt herself nodding, a sort of excited anticipation filling her. "Alright. See you, Anna." She liked the way the girl's name felt on her lips. _Anna. Anna. _Elsa turned the word over and over in her head as she ascended the stairs.

"I see you met one of our new counselors, then?"

Elsa jumped, startled by the sudden voice at the top of the stairs, but relaxed when she saw it was her father. "Oh, yeah," Elsa mumbled quietly.

"Talks too much, but she's good with kids."

Elsa simply nodded. She feared her father could see right into the chaotic brain of hers which was filled with constant thoughts of the girl she had just met. Saying much more would most definitely give her father reason to doubt her. That wasn't happening.

"I just came to return some of your books to your office."

"Oh, good. I noticed that a few were missing. You always were my little book thief."

Elsa smiled softly at her father. He always got excited for some reason when he saw her reading his old and dusty books. Like father like daughter, she supposed.


	2. Test

Quick author's note: If you read the previous story before I decided to continue the story, there's now some added bits to the story since I am continuing it. Just thought I'd let you all know in case there was any confusion.

EDIT: OH MY FUCKING GOSH GUYS I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW WHY MY CHAPTERS HAD NO SPACING! I FIXED IT! I REALLY DO APOLOGIZE!

—

More counselors arrived the next day. Elsa saw many familiar, returning faces from previous summers. There were also a couple new ones as well, but most were actually quite a few years older than Elsa was. It was nice to see all of her old friends again. Today was the orientation for the staff where they discussed the summer plan. Elsa had already had plenty of time to memorize, although not intentionally, the itinerary for most of the camping season. Her father had even asked for her input on several of the activities.

The meeting started in twenty minutes when Elsa departed from her room, out of her cabin, into the scorching morning heat. She gave a wistful look back to her air-conditioned 2A where there was a comfy bed, books, and games for the weekends. But, no, today started the season. Next week there would be campers until August. Not much time for relaxation at Camp Arendelle unless it was actual scheduled free time.

Elsa paused when she heard the door slam on the cabin next to hers. Standing in front of 2B was none other than Anna. _Shit, walk faster. _

"Anna!" The red-headed girl turned around, seeing Elsa and giving her a goofy wave. _Dammit, why did I do that? You are literally the worst. Here she comes. Please act normal. _

"Morning, Elsa!" Anna said, jogging up to catch up to Elsa, walking by her side. Anna was quite chipper this morning, even though it was barely eight.

"Hey," Elsa gave a small smile to the girl.

"Sup." Anna gave a little grin as they walked. She was swinging her hands haphazardly, much to Elsa's dismay as one of Anna's dainty hands collided with her own. She quickly withdrew her hands into her pockets only to receive a questioning sidelong glance from Anna. She said nothing, though. The short trip to the Lodge from the cabins was spent in silence aside from a few random comments from Anna about how hot it was.

—

"… make sure you keep your walkies on at all times, and remind the kids…"

Elsa listened into her father's instructions every now and then only to tune right back out. To her right, Anna was actually furiously taking notes. Well, for the most part. Elsa smirked as she looked over to see her notebook covered in doodles and song lyrics. _She's paying as much attention as I am._

Something at the bottom corner of Anna's note caught her eye, something she hadn't noticed her doodling. It was a tiny but incredibly detailed sketch. _Is.. She drew me? Holy shit, it's tiny but it's amazing! _

"You like it?" Anna whispered, noticing Elsa's intense staring.

"It's amazing. But why would you draw me?"

"Because you're very beautiful."

Elsa just sat there with a stupid expression on her face while Anna became very fixated on what Mr. Arendelle had to say about the low ropes course. Mr. Arendelle was wrapping up his speech.

"Alright, ladies and gents, that concludes this year's summer orientation. You can report to where you are needed. Assignment sheets are posted in the game lounge."

Anna hopped up out of her seat, nearly running down the stairs behind the Lodge's main room down to the game lounge. Elsa followed her at a considerably slower pace along with the other staff members. By the time Elsa caught up with Anna, the freckled girl was running around grinning about something.

"I got the arts and crafts station! I'm so excited" Anna shouted, running up to squish Elsa into a tight hug.

Elsa felt Anna's warm arms around and her chest pressed against her own. She immediately froze like a board. _Fuck, she's hugging me. Do something, idiot. _Anna backed away quickly as she felt Elsa's body go rigid before Elsa could reciprocate the hug as best as she could.

"Sorry, my bad," Anna chuckled.

_Nice one, lameass. _"Alright, let's see what I got this year." Elsa nudged her way through the crowd of people crowding the assignment list. "Oh no," Elsa breathed. _Arts and crafts._

"What did ya get? What did ya get?" Anna said, prancing up to the older girl.

Elsa put on a smile that was tense. "Arts and crafts, too." _I'm going to kill him. _Anna gave a little cheer.

—

Elsa ran up the stairs to the third floor of the Lodge towards her father's study. She didn't bother knocking on the door, but quietly threw the door open. Her father was sitting at his desk.

"The fuck, Dad—"

"Language, Elsa."

"Why am I in the Arts and Crafts building this summer? I thought we agreed that I would be on the Archery division again this year!" Elsa's tone was loud and more than bitter.

"You can't always get what you want just because your father runs the camp. Besides, there was a shortage in the AC group and a surplus in Archery. You were just the girl." Elsa's father remained calm and steady, but stern.

"But why did you pick me? I can't even draw a straight line, much less teach a kid about making paper maché or whatever you call those stupid paper heads!"

"Did I have to have reason to change your schedule? No, not really. You'll be fine."

Elsa just huffed loudly before loudly exiting the room and slamming the office door. She grabbed her backpack hurriedly from where it sat outside the office, slung it over her shoulder as she ran down the stairs and all the way back to 2A.

Finally back in her cabin, she flopped down on her bed, a hundred percent sure that her father had done this deliberately just to test her. It was going to be one hell of a test. She pulled her cool pillow to her face and let out a frustrated scream. _Why me…?_


	3. Welcome

Struggling to pull her hair into her braided bun, Elsa let out a hiss of frustration at the mirror. The humidity made her hair impossible. Finally, she wrangled it into a sloppy swideswept braid with her bangs pushed messily back. _Eh, it'll have to do. _

It was opening day and the first week of camper's were due to arrive over the next hour or so. Elsa found herself inwardly groaning that she was going to have a cabin full of kids from twelve to sixteen. The awkward teenage phase. _Fun…_

Elsa grabbed her backpack and locked her room so that any campers exploring their living quarters for the week wouldn't go through her room. She scurried out the front door of the cabin, setting a quick jogging pace to the Lodge where she hoped most of her cabin had already assembled. She was desperately hoping for a simple collection of quiet, not-too-rowdy kids that wouldn't drive her insane. She was never quite so lucky, though. In the end, Elsa had a habit of just letting the kids run rampant before lights out and just locking herself in her room with headphones. Okay, so Elsa wasn't the best cabin counselor.

_Dammit, I'm late. _Elsa glanced down at her watch. It read ten after ten. She was supposed to be there at ten. She pushed her jog into a run. By the time she arrived, hundreds of kids were swarming the parking lot. It was more than chaotic. At least she could here someone shouting instructions into a bullhorn.

"Hey, Elsa."

Elsa turned around, looking for the voice that had called to her in the chaotic collection of staff and campers alike. She spotted a lanky boy of nineteen with hair color that was similar to her own, but not quite a light.

"Olaf!" Elsa said, waving the boy over. He fought through the people to join his friend. "Which cabin do you have this year?" This was Olaf's second year as a counselor.

"I've got 4B. Kristoff's in 4, too. 4C? No… 4A. Yeah, that was it." Olaf nodded, smiling with a huge grin.

"I've got 2A again, thank goodness." Section 2 was by far the closest to the Lodge. Elsa might have persuaded her father to let her have that cabin three consecutive years in a row. The staff rooms in the A buildings were also larger for some reason. But B and C buildings had bigger bathrooms. Everything had its pros and cons. Poor Olaf and Kristoff, though. Section 4 was nearly a half mile from the center of camp, the Lodge.

"Where are you working this summer? I'm one of the hiking guides; probably the 4th falls guide, though." Olaf frowned. Being a hiking guide meant being in really good shape because you not only had to lead all of the campers at a murderous pace, but if you got assigned to a hike like the 4th Falls, you had to do a bit of rock-climbing, too. Every. Single. Day.

"Oh, Olaf. I am so sorry," Elsa said kindly, offering her friend a half hug.

"That's okay. The hikes were always my favorite as a kid!" Olaf's spirit was unconquerable. "Alright, well, I better go get my cabin! I have a pretty rambunctious group this year… yay!" With a usual goofy grin, he left Elsa to search for her subjects of responsibilities.

With a few push and shoves, though nothing more than a tentative poke, Elsa finally managed her way over to a bright yellow poster board with 2A lazily drawn with a black sharpie. There were snowflakes on it because it was the only thing Elsa could draw and just writing 2A was really lame. It was another perfect example of why the platinum-haired girl did not belong in the art department for the summer.

Elsa pulled the poster board up, holding it by the stake above the crowd. Several kids drifted over to her. Elsa dug her hand into her pocket, pulling a meticulously folded piece of paper. She looked over her roster. _Alright, three are here now. Nine more to go. _Elsa quickly asked the kids their names and she checked off their names.

After nearly forty-five minutes, all twelve kids had found their way to Elsa's side. Thankfully she had picked a shady spot to gather her cabin or they would have been royally baked by the morning sun. "Alright, 2C. Follow me." Elsa picked up her sign poster board and made a path through the significantly less crowded parking lot. The sound of grunting teenagers picking up their over-packed suitcases and duffle bags was all she could hear. Sighing, she walked on down the path. Elsa could hear a bit of chatter between the campers, but they seemed relatively calm and placid. Elsa had never been so thankful. Obnoxious teenagers were not her specialty.

When the group arrived at the cabin, Elsa propped open the door. "Welcome to your new humble abode," Elsa said, gesturing an arm into the open door. One by one, each kid trailed their baggage inside. Elsa smirked when she heard one exclaim something along the lines of 'Oh, sweet, sweet air-conditioning.' She followed the last camper in, closing the door.

"Alright, I trust you all can choose a bed peaceably enough. You've got nearly two hours to unpack everything and get to know each other. Then at one, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to go off to whatever activity you chose in your orientation this morning. Also, lay off the cellphones while you're here." Elsa saw a kid quickly thrust her phone behind her back like she hadn't been texting right in front of Elsa. "Not that you can't use them here, it's merely a suggestion." The girl relaxed a little, smiling up at Elsa. "Well, I'll be in here; knock if you need me." Elsa pointed at her room that was built into the corner of the cabin. A few nodded, but the rest simply went to setting up their belongings.

In her room, Elsa sat on the edge of her bed. She was about to fall back and lounge on the mattress until she heard shrill screaming in the cabin next door. "Anna?" Elsa jumped up, sprint out of her room and out of the cabin.


	4. Splash

A/N: Wow, thank you guys for the 40+ follows already! You have no idea how much that means to me. People? Actually wanting to read what I write? Unthinkable. Oh well, here's a resolution to your cliffhanger.

Elsa was bursting through the other cabin's door within seconds of the scream, her heart pounding. Worry creeped through her skin. Her eyes flashed around the room but she didn't see Anna. She was sure that she was the one who had screamed. "Anna?" She called out. Elsa immediately heard someone scrambling and something crashing to the ground. Anna appeared in the doorway of her room. Anna's campers decided to ignore the two.

"Elsa!" Anna's voice shook, running over to the girl and clinging to arm. She was hiding. A sense of confusion flooded Elsa.

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked, worry edging her tone.

"_There's a spider_," Anna whispered. She was still cowering in fear behind Elsa's slight frame. At this, Elsa couldn't help but throw her head back in a deep, boisterous laugh. She hugged her stomach, her abs aching as she cackled loudly. Anna gave a pouty face.

"It's not funny, Elsa!" Anna shouted indignantly, stamping her foot. Elsa just wiped a tear that from her eye, still laughing like crazy. Anna simply frowned, folding her arms. "Would... would you kill it?"

Nodding through her subsiding laughter, Elsa stepped through the door to Anna's room, looking for the instigator of the whole event. Anna's room has neat but haphazardly so. It was like her room couldn't decide whether or not it wanted to be neat or sloppy. On one hand, her bed, with it's soft green blankets, was immaculate and wrinkle free. The floor, on the other hand, was littered with what appeared to be dirty clothes, not two feet away from an empty hamper. On the desk, Elsa could see a pile of neatly pressed and folded clothes along with other sloppily arranged trinkets and personal belongings. Anna's room didn't make any sense.

After taking a step inside Anna's room, walking around the edge of her bed, Elsa saw it. Elsa drew in a sharp inhale. A very, very unusually large black widow was laying in the corner. She suddenly understood Anna's scream. Elsa looked over to Anna who was cowering behind the frame of the door and gave her a thumb's up. _I don't even blame her for screaming at something like that. Shit, it's huge. _Elsa saw a styrofoam cup sitting on Anna's nightstand. It was empty. Grabbing it, she yanked the lid off. Elsa slammed the cup over the spider, her skin crawling with fear. The black widow probably wouldn't have killed Anna or even bothered her, but it was always better to be safe than sorry or spending a large portion of the summer recovering from the harsh venom. Elsa didn't want to see that kind of pain inflicted on anyone.

Sliding the cup's lid under the cup, she squished the lid on. She could see Anna out of the corner of her eye eyeing her with a confused look. "Unless you want spider guts and or unhatched baby spiders, I suggest you roll with it." Anna nodded suddenly whole-heartedly. Elsa walked out of the room and out of the cabin, carrying the cup at arm's length. When Elsa was outside, she saw that a few of her own cabin had wandered outside to see what the fuss was about and even some of Anna's cabin was following Elsa to see what was going to happen. The sudden attention and every eye trained on her made her feel stressed out suddenly. Being under close scrutiny was awful. Inhaling, Elsa kept her breath steady to stay calm and marched the spider over to the fire pit in the middle of the circle of cabins. She tossed the cup into the pit and made sure the spider wasn't going anywhere. The fire would be lit later today and that way she wouldn't have to worry about any tiny little eggs that the spider might be carrying hatching into any more scary eight-legged creatures. She heard Anna give a little cheer of relief. She heard a camper behind her say, "Well, that was anti-climatic."

Elsa couldn't help herself as she gave a little chuckle. She didn't see who had said it. "I hope you weren't hoping for me to do mortal combat with a little spider!" She said, calling out to the little crowd that had gathered. Clearly that's what they thought was going to happen. Elsa just shook her head, heading back to her own cabin. She'd had enough attention from the gawking teenagers waiting for a show that they weren't going to get.

Looking over, she saw Anna mouth a 'thank you' with soft, sincere eyes. Elsa just gave her a little smile back. _Don't get attached, idiot. _Her smile faded and she opened the door to her cabin and to her room. She closed her door, leaning against it, letting her legs give way as she slid to the floor. Anna's smile was just too sweet. She felt a smile coming to her face when she imagined the other girl's smile again. Dragging herself out of her thoughts, Elsa glanced at the clock. There was only a little time left before she had to head down to the AC building and start setting up shop. _Where Anna will be. All afternoon. With you. _Elsa couldn't tell whether or not she was dreading the afternoon or really excited. She supposed she was somewhere in between, but anxiety filled her chest nonetheless.

—

Elsa plopped her worn back onto a dented, paint-covered table and flipped a light switch on. The lights flickered to life, illuminating the little workshop filled with everything imaginable that was art related. She could see pottery pieces lining the shelves, shelves and drawers filled with decorative beads, woodworks, everything. Everything a kid could want. If they were artistic. This was Elsa's living hell. She had once burnt herself with a hot glue gun and for some reason that had just turned her brain off completely to all things art related. Not to mention she wasn't very good at it to begin with. Sighing, Elsa rummaged through the staff closet, dragging out paint sets and other supplies. The kids were allowed to do whatever they wanted. That made it easy for her. All she had to was supervise and make sure no one dumped paint in someone's hair. _Easy. I hope._

She heard the door crack open. Glancing up, she saw Anna stumbling in the door, arms full of sketchbooks, paints, chalks, and brushes. She even had two or three brushes shoved in her hair and a brush clamped down in her mouth. "Haa, Alsha," Anna mumbled through the brush clamped between her lips as she waddled over to a tabled where she let it all plop down. She took the brush from her mouth. "Sorry I'm late. I wanted to haul all of this stuff up here, but I didn't want to make two trips." Anna was talking so fast that her words were running together.

Elsa smirked, gesturing towards the top of her head. Anna looked at Elsa, confused. Then she grabbed her head, where Elsa had been pointing at own her own head. Anna grinned. "Whoops, missed one!" Anna pulled a brush from her hair and set it down with the rest of her stuff. She let out an awkward chuckle. "So! How many kids do we have today?"

Digging into her back pocket, the blonde-haired girl pulled out her handwritten roster. She counted the names she had scribbled down. "Twenty. Twenty kids for an hour and a half. Then the other shift takes over."

"Only that long?" A frown washed over Anna's face. "Art takes time! These kids need like... five hours to make something awesome."

Elsa just shook her head, hopping up to sit on one of the table, propping up her arches on the edge of the table, bringing her knees into her chest. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to supervise them for five hours."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Anna said, letting out a small, disappointed sigh. Elsa frowned.

"Not that it would be so bad!" Elsa said, scrambling to say something. _Good job, you suck at this. _

Anna looked up at Elsa, her smile coming back a little. "It would be fun hanging out with you all day, too." Elsa felt her face flush.

"Uh, yeah. Same. Too. You. Yeah." At that, Anna smiled and busied herself in organizing her supplies at another table. About that time, the campers were trickling in. Apparently the AC girls were in for a rough week with their new, rowdy responsibilities that liked to throw paint.

"I thought teenagers were supposed to be well-behaved or something," Elsa sighed, rubbing a damp paper towel on her face, scrubbing against the dried and cracked paint on her lightly freckled face.

"You must not have been a very good teenager, Elsa." Anna called over, smirking at the older girl. She was in the process finishing up mopping paint up off the floor.

"Guess not."

"How old are you, anyway?" Anna asked, putting the mop back in the bucket and pushing it over to the corner. The rough cleaning job would have to do. It was the art building. No one expected it to be clean by any standard.

Elsa just turned away from the tiny mirror on the wall, raising an eyebrow. "I'm twenty. Twenty-one in two weeks."

"Ah, almost old enough to turn up."

Elsa made a little expression that said _'what?' _and then she realized what the girl meant. "Oh. Yeah. You?"

"Just turned nineteen. I didn't realize you were almost two years older than me," Anna said, feigning a little pout at being the younger of the two.

"Gosh, Anna. Don't make me feel old now!"

"Heh, sorry. Elsa, you've got a... bit of paint," Anna paused, trying not to laugh, "in your hair; just there." Anna said, walking over to the girl who was frantically running her hands through her blonde hair until her fingers snagged on a large chunk covered in neon orange paint.

"Shit!" Elsa spat, pulling the hair in front and staring in dismay at the marred strand of hair. Anna let out a little 'aww' as the other girl pawed at her hair. She reached over to the sink, grabbing a damp paper towel.

"Here, stay still," Anna said, grabbing the hair from Elsa' hands. Elsa froze as Anna ran her hands through her hair with gentle fingers. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." Elsa could feel her pulse going at a very uncomfortable pace as Anna delicately use the paper towel to extricate the paint. "There, all done."

Suddenly the door open. Mr. Arendelle stepped into the room. Elsa quickly sidestepped away from Anna who still had fingers in Elsa's hair. Her eyes quickly fell to the ground. _Great timing, Dad. Fuck. _

"Hello, ladies. Elsa," Mr. Arendelle said, catching his daughter's eye. "Enjoying the art department?" Elsa gave a weak smile. That was all she could manage. "Good, but that's not what I'm here for. Miss Frifalk? I'd like you to come with me, I think you would be perfect for tonight's fire skit. Oh, don't worry, you only have a few lines."

Anna just made a confused face, but followed Mr. Arendelle out the door, but not before giving a wave to Elsa who returned it with a tiny wave goodbye.


	5. Fire

A/N: For confusion reasons: the tree base is like 3 foot off the ground? Yes? Okay.

**Edit: I rewrote a good portion of this chapter. Sorry. I wasn't happy with the previous edition, especially the skit. **

* * *

Bark bit into her skin as she watched the burly-as-ever Kristoff stack large pieces of wood into the huge fire pit that sat at the edge of the soccer field. Elsa readjusted her position in the lowest section of the trunk of a tree, wedging herself between two huge limbs that were only a few feet off the ground. She always arrived early to the nightly campfire for some reason. Maybe it was just the quiet, only the sound of wood being tossed and the wind in the trees surrounding her. She pulled a thick book from her bag and reclined into the tree, propping her legs up against the opposite branch and began to read. The light of the fading sun was shining on her back, illuminating the words.

"That can't be comfortable, Els," Kristoff called, still chunking logs. She looked up from her book, shooting the boy a glare. He merely grinned, clearly used to Elsa's persistent stares. "I swear, you're just like a cat. Just give you some ears and you're all set!"

Elsa frowned. _Haha, very funny, Kristoff. _Huffing, she rolled out of her seat and stepped to the ground. She reached down for a pinecone and launched at the blond who's back was now turned. It hit with a satisfying thump. The blonde-haired girl smirked, her nose crinkling in her smile.

"Hey!" Kristoff shouted, turning around. Elsa gave him a cocky grin. He put up his hands in defense, "Okay, okay. I'll lay off the cat jokes." This wasn't the first time a similar situation had panned out. "But, you really are quite feline, Els." Ignoring Kristoff, not that she minded his persistence in friendship, the blonde-haired girl crawled back up to her perch and finally settled back to reading her book. She slipped in her headphones and lost herself in another world of music and words.

* * *

"Ah!" Elsa screamed. "_Shit," _Elsa said as she crumpled to the ground, landing halfway in the dirt. She was upside now, foot still hooked where she had wedged it in the tree.

"Oops?" A voice said, a hint of laughter tinging it.

Elsa looked up, her head laying in the dirt, her leg at a very uncomfortable angle. It was Anna leaning over her, offering her a hand. With a bit of reluctancy, Elsa grasped her hand, helping her unhook her foot and right her balance. Elsa pulled out her headphones, giving Anna a confused look. Anna made an 'oh' with her mouth.

"I guess you didn't hear me coming?" Anna asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her light blue-green eyes glancing away. Shaking her head, Elsa brushed the dirt from her braid and clothes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you would have heard me coming and all. I mean, I stomp around like an elephant, at least that what one of my friends said. Not like that's relevant. Again, I'm really sorry," Anna said, rambling out the words.

It was nearly dark, but Elsa thought she could see a faint glow of red spreading across Anna's freckled cheeks, but she could also feel the same flush against her own face. "It's okay. You didn't mean to. Just... don't poke me while I'm propped up in a tree? I'm kind of ticklish," Elsa ran the last few words together, very, very quietly. The blush was creeping its way across her face; from ear to ear, she could feel the all-too-familiar heat.

Anna cupped her hand to her ear, a sudden faint grin on her lips. "What was that, Elsa?"

"Nothing!" Elsa feigned a small gri. Anna stepped in close, leaning to Elsa's ear. She froze.

"_Did you say you were ticklish?" _Anna whispered, a sinister grin creeping across her face. Before Elsa could flee, Anna's delicate fingers caught her, tickling her side. Elsa cried out in a fit of laughter. Every thought in Elsa's head was on red alert as Anna was relentless. Elsa's side ached as she was subjected to Anna's artful, dancing fingers. Suddenly, the older girl went limp in the redhead's arms.

"Oh, shit. I broke her," Anna said, pausing, " Elsa?" Anna knelt down, a guilty tone lacing her voice. Opening one eye as Anna came within range, in that moment of weakness, Elsa lurched forward, tickling the redhead from her neck to her ribs. The two tumbled to the ground as they wrestled against each other, deft hands finding each others weak spots. Laughter was resounding. Elsa's sides ached.

"Elsa! Ah! Elsa!" Anna shouted, falling prey to Elsa's relentless, nimble fingers. After a moment, Elsa found herself pinning Anna by the shoulders to the ground, each breathing heavily, faces flushed from the tickle fight. They were close. _Too close. _

_Oh, God. Her eyes are intoxicating, _Elsa thought as their eyes locked; icy blue staring into turquoise. If her heart hadn't already been pounding her chest, it would have started pounding like a jackhammer then. Too close, ust a mere few inches between their faces. Neither moved, frozen in something other than fear, locking in their gazing trance.

_Elsa, get the fuck off of Anna. _Her body resisted. _Now. _Elsa gave into her unrelenting conscience even though every instinct fought to lean in and close the gap and rolled to her side, collapsing onto her back into the dirt. She hugged her arms into her chest for a moment before rolling to a stand, her senses confused and disoriented. Anna looked up at Elsa, the flush still illuminating her freckled face, before pushing herself to her legs and brushed off the dirt.

"I've... I've gotta go get ready for that skit. I'll see you, um, later." With that, Anna ran off towards Kristoff at the fire pit where other staff members and a few campers were beginning to gather. Standing alone, Elsa mentally berated herself. _I'm such a fool. What was I thinking? I fucked up. _She could feel the frustration at her unconsolable heart bleeding up inside her.

* * *

As the skit actors lined up, Elsa wandered over to the others now that her cabin had begun to appear. She sat on the bench labeled 2A, dreading the fact that section 2 was the second ring surrounding the fire pit. She wanted to be as far away from Anna as she could so she wouldn't have to feel so guilty around her. But, fate would not have it so. The skit began and the blonde-haired girl found it hard to tear her eyes away from Anna, who was undeniably beautiful in the light of the dancing flames, even when she wasn't speaking during the short play.

The skit was about two sisters. One born with magical powers, the other an ordinary, ever-cheerful girl. One day as the sisters were playing together, the elder accidentally harmed her sister, freezing a part of her. She hadn't meant to. Fortunately, she could be cured, but she still bore the scar and no memory of her sister's magic. Years and years past and things had grown between the sisters. The younger often tried to call out to the older, but the older simply ignored her; to protect her. The older sister, in a fit of frustration and fear, set everything into magical mayhem and fled far away. With her sister's determination and sacrifice , the two sisters were reunited, as close as ever. It was endearing but there were a few funny lines.

Elsa couldn't help but chuckle when she realized Anna was reading her lines off her arm, written in tiny scribbles on her left arm. The blonde could easily tell which parts the girl had managed to memorize and which she had not. Mr. Arendelle obviously hadn't given her much warning about this skit, but she had to admit that Anna was a pretty great actress, even when she had only a few hours to practice for this.

Eventually the skit drew to a close and Elsa quickly huddled her campers up together and herded them in the direction of 'home.' Before Elsa had gone too far, Kristoff and his troop of boys that were his cabin jogged up.

"Hey, you know that redhead, right? You two were hanging out, or something like that, earlier." Kristoff asked, a little out of breath.

Elsa tipped up an eyebrow, pursing her lips. "Yeah?"

Kristoff grinned. "She's gorgeous. What's her name? Is she single? Oh, I just want to talk to her."

Before Kristoff could even finish, Elsa felt a sudden, small surge of jealousy surging through her skin. She tried to fight back and repress the feeling, but it was persistent. She frowned at the tall blond, but bit her cheek. _He has the right. You don't. _"Her name is Anna and I don't really know." Elsa's tone was curt, but not rude. _Kristoff? And Anna? _

"Anna. What a great name!"

"Good luck with that," Elsa mumbled sarcastically, walking faster towards a split that separated the cabin sections. Kristoff was in 4, so he had no reason of bothering her down to section 2. For that, Elsa was relieved. She bolted for her cabin, campers close in tail.

* * *

Elsa slipped on a tanktop and shorts before slinking into her bed, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief that the cool sheets and fluffy bed brought her. She curled up in a tight ball, wrapping her pillow between her arms, her eyes settling to a close. The day had been long and stressful and sleep claimed her easily.

That was the first night she dreamed of Anna.

* * *

A/N: I figured out how to do the bar thing. I've been writing ficss for years and have never known how. Aren't you proud of me? justkidding

Also, I can't believe how many people are reading this story! Thank you so much. I'm going to go die of excitement now.

- Sam [ceuriss]

p.s. Name suggestions are welcome. "A Summer at Camp Arendelle" is a hella nope.


	6. Suppression

Chapter Six: Supression

* * *

_Don't feel. Don't feel. _

Loneliness seeped through the girl. She felt dry and weak, like she had locked a part of herself away. Motivation was definitely something she was lacking, too. Elsa let out a frustrated, small scream into her pillow. She had the worst luck and way too many emotions about everything.

It had been two days since her little awkward showdown with Anna and it had been two days of hell. She had faked sick the day before, but she was clearly not sick. Elsa never got sick. It was like she was impervious to disease. Huddling away and locking herself in the room away from her campers, away from her father, and away from Anna was clearly not the answer. Yet, she couldn't figure out any other solution. Elsa was perfectly happily living away and alone from everyone forever. That seemed like the sensible solution.

A knock at the door.

"Elsa." The tone was deep and commanding. It was her father. He had noticed her absence the previous day. _He just doesn't want to look bad when I completely disappear from the world. _Elsa found herself pulling the pillow from her face and unlocking the door. Her father stepped into her small cabin bedroom. They were in definite stark contrast.

Her platinum locks versus his dark ginger-brown. He was tall, she was short. He was pristine and pressed, she was disheveled and ragged.

"You look awful," was all her father said, eying his only daughter with a serious scrutiny.

_No shit. _She didn't reply, her eyes suddenly engrossed in the pattern on the wooden boards underneath her feet. The mix of light spirals and waves against the darker. The dark overpowered the light. The father overpowered the daughter.

"Are you feeling alright?" came her father's response after what seemed like hours. Elsa looked up at her father this time. Genuine concern could barely be heard in his voice, but, it was actually there. Her icy blue eyes scanned his face, but he was like a book written in a language she didn't understand. Foreign and blank. Her steel gaze met his.

"You're paler than usual, Elsa."

Silence was all that Elsa could manage, even if she wanted to say something. She just couldn't trust her own mouth. Her mind and body betrayed her at every turn. She bit the inside of her cheek and returned her gaze to the ground. _You're worthless at this point, you absolute fuck up. You can't be friends with a girl, much less tell your father why you're so messed up. Oh _wait_, he already knows._

Her father stepped in, grabbing her shoulder sharply, shaking her. "Elsa, say something."

The girl frowned, reaching up to push her father away. "_I'm fine!" _Her voice faltered and broke, but she kept pushing until her father backed out of the door. She slammed the door shut. _They'll never see you cry. _A hot trickle of tears tumbled down her faintly freckled cheeks. She sunk to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest, hugging them close.

Elsa heard footsteps slowly turning to leave and the outer door finally coming to a slow close. "Be normal for just one day, Els," the blonde whispered to herself ever so quietly. Sighing, she pushed herself up and stumbled to her dresser, locking eyes with herself in the mirror.

_He wasn't kidding. _Her usual crisp braid was undone most of the way, but a few strands still clung together. The other half that had come loose was either pressed against her forward, flat and mussed, or in the case of the short pieces, still up straight in the air. She was a sight for sore eyes. Her eyeliner did nothing more than add to the dark circles under her eyes. Her skin _was _unusually pale. She resembled nothing more than a disheveled ghost.

"Normal? I can be normal," Elsa said resolutely, determined not to be the absolute failure that she already was.

* * *

Elsa stepped into the AC building promptly at fifteen minutes until one. Her hair had been restored to its previous luster, every strand in its proper place tied up into an elegant bun. She had even attempted to re-do her eyeliner, but she had hadn't much time between her spat with her father and the time for her shift in the art building. With Anna. Elsa inhaled deeply as she glanced around the room, spotting Anna huddled over a paint-splattered table by the window, pencil in hand.

She could feel a smile coming to her face at the sight of the redheaded girl. Biting the inside of her cheek, Elsa turned away, setting her worn backpack down on a table at the opposite end of the room. Anna glanced up at her, eyes only meeting for a fraction for of a second before both girls turned away hastily, busying themselves in their jobs, or whatever it was Anna was doing in her sketchbook.

Scrambling for something to do, Elsa finally settled on setting out the craft boxes for the afternoon. She opened the box that was on top; plastic beads and other assorted fake jewels were in it along with some obnoxiously bright string. Elsa could practically gag at the idea of all the teenagers wandering in here and making little friendship bracelets for friends that would fade in a few years. Yet Elsa felt the urge to make one.

The door opened and Elsa turned to see Kristoff leading his cabin into the AC buildings, a goofy grin on his face. Ten rowdy boys bounced through the door after him. Another counselor weaved her way in; Elsa didn't recognize her, supposing she was one of the newer staff members that she had yet to meet. She was a brunette with short hair and leading her little collection of campers behind her. The two counselors got their cabins settled in, leaving them in Anna and Elsa's care for the next hour. The other counselor girl left shortly after that, but Kristoff stuck around.

Elsa eyed her friend, noticing that he was making his way through the mass of kids over toward Anna who was helping a kid pick out different colored strings.

"Hey," Elsa heard Kristoff say from across the room. She couldn't help but be drawn to the conversation. Elsa turned her back, but strained to hear their conversation.

"Hi," Anna said cheerfully, her tone its usual playful and light self. Elsa could only assume that Anna was giving him her best grin. That's what Anna did. She loved everyone, as far as Elsa knew. She'd only been here a week, but it seemed like everyone she talked was immediately her best friend or in love with her. _She does have that effect... _Elsa frowned. The chatter of kids was too loud for the girl to make out what the other two counselors were saying. She turned her head, eyeing the two.

Kristoff was propped up on Anna's table, nearly leaning over. The two were talking animatedly, both grinning from ear to ear. Elsa could see from here that Anna was having a great time talking to the tall blond. She felt her heart sink. _Stop, that should bother you at all. Normal people wouldn't be bothered by seeing two people talk. Damn it, why is this so hard?_

Elsa couldn't keep her attention away from the two; she forced herself into the supply closet. She still had an extra bead box in her hands. Cringing, she opened the box. If she was going to sit in here for entire shift, she might as well do something productive. Pulling a white bundle of string out, she measured a length around her wrist and snipped it with a pair of scissors. Then another one.

The blonde sifted through the box, pleasantly surprised by color choices. She decided she liked the tiny beads better than the opulently large, tacky ones. A pile of ice blue beads lay next to a pile of summery green beads. A few lettered beads were mixed up in the piles. And so Elsa set to work.

Forty-five minutes later, there was a knock on the supply door. Elsa jumped, lost in her little project. The door cracked open and warm light flooded into the dimly lit closet. Anna leaned against the door frame, looking at Elsa sitting in a mess of beads and string. Only later did Elsa realize how pathetic she looked.

"He's gone now."

"What?" Elsa asked, suddenly confused. Anna's tone was harsh but sympathetic.

"You've been in here for almost an hour. You didn't even show up yesterday." Anna was frowning at the older girl who was still scrambling in the floor. Elsa slid the bracelets behind her back.

The blonde hesitated for a long moment. "So?" _Comeback skills: -1_

"Whatever, Elsa. Sit in the closet and be weird. What do I care?" Anna nearly shouted, her expression a chaotic mix of anger and sadness. She threw her hands up exasperatedly. Elsa saw the girl stomp out back to the table at the end of the room.

After a moment, Elsa shoved all her beads sloppily back into the box angrily. She couldn't even do one thing like a normal person. _Freak, _resounded in her mind. She stormed out of the closet, dropping the bracelets that she had made on the front table and rushed out of the cabin. She didn't see Anna stand up and immediately observe the items that she had left behind. She didn't see Anna smile broadly, holding the bracelets close. She didn't see Anna slide on one of the bracelets that had 'Elsa' written in beaded letters. She didn't see Anna clutch the other bracelet tightly to her chest nor the regretful expression on Anna's freckled face.


	7. Thrills

Elsa had never been so excited for her campers to leave for the week and for the weekend to arrive. She had spent most of the week avoiding Anna, especially after her actions three days prior in the AC building. Elsa had just given up on going to her shift for working in the AC department. She was awful at it anyways. Guilt always nudged at her when Elsa remembered she had left the poor girl alone with all of those teenagers for two hours, but it was better than making a complete imbecile of herself and making Anna hate her even more.

It was Saturday morning and Elsa found herself ascending the stairs to the little coffee shop at the top of the large hill in the middle of camp. There were 167 stairs to the top. She had counted them too many times to forget. Elsa really hated those stairs, but coffee was calling her name. The girl hadn't found time to make it up here all week, but now as she stepped through the door and the overwhelmingly delightful scent of coffee flooded her nose, she wished she would have made time. Not to mention how refreshingly cool it was in the brightly lit little cafe.

She couldn't help but enjoy how peaceful and quiet the camp was on the weekends. The counselors usually ran around like little campers for the weekend, enjoying the outdoors, even though some of them that lived relatively close went home for a few days. Elsa had no options in that matter. She actually had lived on the camp since she was small, her home just at the edge of the campground. The girl never bothered to go home, though. Her small room in her cabin was perfectly useful for several months of the year and when summer was over, she would be three states away at college. Her father was always home on the weekends, so she had a tendency just to avoid him all together.

Shuffling behind the counter, she waved to a girl that was actually working, but largely ignored her. Elsa had done her time in the quaint little coffee shop her first summer and it really was her cup of tea. Literally. It didn't mean she had forgotten how to make deathly sweet, sugar addiction drink. It was mostly a rich, dark hot chocolate with a double shot of espresso with chocolate drizzled whipped cream. She dropped a couple dollars in the cash register before grabbing her ceramic mug and wandering over to the curved, black granite bar in the middle of shop and sliding into one of the comfortable leather stools. This had to be one of the fanciest places on the campground. It was elegant and smooth, but it was relaxing too. Elsa took a sip of her scalding hot concoction before instantly regretting her decision as she felt her taste buds become nothing more than an unfeeling, burnt mass on her tongue. "Shit," Elsa mumbled, sticking her tongue out. It wasn't like anyone else was in the main part of the coffee shop, that was, until the very moment that Elsa had chosen to stick out her tongue to cool it off. _  
_

At that moment, a redheaded figured had clambered up the back steps and through the back door via the large outdoor porch that overlooked the south end of the camp. It was no one other than Anna catching Elsa making a fool of herself. Once again. Elsa saw the redhead bumble into the main foyer of the coffeeshop. Her teal eyes immediately trained onto the only figure in the room and in that instant, not even caring how hot her drink was, Elsa started to gulp her coffee down. Her eyes teared up painfully as the liquid seared her tongue and throat. She turned away from Anna, hiding her face behind her steaming hot mug. Not a moment later, she heard a throat clear behind her.

"Elsa."

Elsa winced. It was Anna and the girl couldn't decide whether or the girl sounded angry or just hurt. She had spent so much time trying not to fuck up that she had done it anyway. _Ignoring her probably won't help, either. That's what you've done all week. _

"Elsa, please. Can we just talk about whatever happened?" Elsa turned around, setting her still-warm-but-empty mug down on the granite. She saw Anna's turquoise eyes; they looked confused. "Listen, I don't know what happened that night at the fire. I think I must have said something that made you mad. I don't even know what happened. One second, we seemed like we were friends and then the next day you won't even talk to me. I only ever wanted to be your friend, Elsa. Whatever it was that I did, I'm sorry. Just, please if there's something I did, just tell me. I'll even leave you alone if you don't want to talk me." Anna's tone was raw. Guilt suddenly flared in the older girl like nuclear warfare.

_She... wasn't mad at me? Damn it. She thought I was mad at her? Is that... Oh. God, I fucked up. _Elsa's icy blue eyes grew wide as the realization of how they _both _had misinterpreted the events of that night. Anna had actually just had the go that night. Elsa had taken it for fear. Everything after that was just miscommunication.

"I-I wasn't mad, Anna," Elsa said, finally looking the freckled girl in the eyes. A smile immediately lit up Anna's face.

"Really?"

"I am so sorry, Anna. I thought you were mad at me and I just-" Elsa was cut off by a sudden pressure around her torso. Strong, toned arms wrapped her tight in an embrace. Not even a moment later, the warm arms left her.

Anna looked at her, mumbling an apology. "Sorry, I forgot. You're not a touchy person."

_Please don't screw this up. You've got a second chance. Be friends with the girl for crying out loud. Be. Normal. _Elsa shook her head, a few strands of her white-blonde hair falling in her face before she stood up and gave a slight, not nearly as firm a hug as Anna had given her. But, it was still something. Elsa backed away, picking her mug back up to fumble with her. Having something to hold and grasp that wasn't Anna was a good thing right now.

"Okay, so I guess we really are just bad at communicating with each other?" Anna asked with a quick, laughing nod from Elsa. "Good job, we're dumb. Well, I'm dumb. Not you, you're great. Really great. Wow, this is all my fault. Definitely all my fault-"

_She exceeds all expectations of adorable. Even when she's rambling. _Elsa smiled faintly at the girl as she talked with her hands, losing herself in her features.

"-and so maybe we could try it! I mean, if you want."

"Wait, what?" Elsa said suddenly, her eyes growing ever wider when she realized she had been spacing out on Anna's face and had missed most of what she had said. _That's normal. Not._

Anna narrowed her eyes, her face rising into a little grin when she realized what had happened. "Kristoff said he was going to run the giant swing this afternoon for the counselors. Do you want to be my riding partner?"

The giant swing. A ninety foot tall pendulum of doom. Or so some of the campers said. Two people strapped into harnesses and a giant rope pulled you backwards, leaving you in total suspense until it reaches the apex where the clamp releases and lets you free fall for a good eighty feet until the rope meets tension and lets you swing. By far the most exciting at camp. Elsa had ridden it many times, but the thought of riding it with Anna brought back the anxious feeling she had felt the first time she had been strapped into the giant deathtrap*.

"Oh, that sounds fun. Sure." _What? You can't ride that with her. Nope, nope. _

"Great, Kristoff said it'd be ready to go in about twenty minutes. Wanna head down?"

_Shit. _Elsa nodded her head, trying to push back her worry. She didn't know why, but she just had a horrible sinking feeling that everything that could go wrong with the next half hour probably would. Her worries were dashed the second Anna grabbed her wrist and ran off, the two trundling out of the coffeeshop and down the long, long flight of stairs to where the giant swing was.

The older girl listened to Anna talk quietly as the made there way down to the central area. A few counselors were lounging under the large outdoor shelter, a few guys were shooting basketball, but most of the counselors were in line for the monstrosity that towered over even a lot of the trees. Elsa heard Anna let out of a little squeal of excitement. There was no way Elsa could deny the girl the opportunity, although she was sure that Anna could have asked anyone to ride it with her and they immediately would have said yes. For the life of her, Elsa still couldn't figure out why Anna had even asked her to do this. Yesterday they weren't even talking. _She's forgiven me much to easily. None of that was her fault. It was mine. _

By the time the two made it down to the swing, the line had already died down a bit. There were only three pairs ahead of them. Anna scrambled as she hopped up to sit on the railing, swinging her feet back and forth. A huge grin was plastered to her face. Elsa smiled as she could how excited the younger girl was about this. Finally, there turn arrived. They stepped past the queue and over to a small little wall where the harnesses were. They didn't have anyone suiting them up like they did for the counselors since the counselors were already supposed to know how to do this.

Elsa had managed to slide the contraption and tighten the straps even though she had tripped over the foot hold twice. Anna was not faring as well. She was still struggling to wrestled the leg straps around her thin little legs. After a moment of battling indecision, Elsa stepped over.

"Here," she mumbled, taking the harness from the freckled girl and walked her through the harness. Elsa still needed to tighten the straps, though. She frowned, inhaling deeply before wrapping her arms around Anna's small waist from the back, pulling tightly on the worn, but sturdy straps. The older girl couldn't help but feel her face flare with heat as their arms brushed together. Elsa quickly tied the straps and hooked all the belts, stepping away from Anna in a hurry.

"Thanks!" Anna grinned, turning around to smile kindly up at Elsa. The heat in Elsa's cheeks on grew worse.

"Hey, weirdos. Your turn!" Elsa spun around quickly, suddenly incredibly thankful for Kristoff's intrusion. Together, Anna and Elsa waddled up the stairs, but both of them stumbled over the bars that hung low from the harness at their feet a couple times. Finally they found themselves at the top of the movable staircase.

"I've never done this before. I'm scared," Anna mumbled as Kristoff attached the huge clasp to them, instructing them to flip and hang on to the bar on the staircase. Their bodies were now parallel to the ground.

"You'll be fine," Kristoff said to Anna, smiling warmly at her. "And if you do think you're gonna hurl, don't worry about. By time you get back down her, the centrifugal force will have forced it back down." Anna made a disgusted frown at the tall man before he stepped down the stairs. She craned her head to Elsa. They were so close in the harness.

Elsa tensed when she found Anna's arm linking with her own, and even more so when Anna's fingers twined with her own. She relaxed only when she realized how stiff and nervous Anna was. She was gripped the older girl's hand so tightly, Elsa was sure she'd cut off all circulation.

"Anna. Breath." Elsa smiled at the girl, suddenly feeling a calm excitement as they were pulled up backwards, her heart racing.

"Right. Breath. Breathing. AH." Anna started shrieking. Elsa's eyes grew wide, Anna's grip on her arm and hands on increasing. She was terrified. "Kristoff! Kristoff, take me back down! Take me back down!"

From the ground, Kristoff only chuckled loudly enough for the rapidly ascending girls to hear. "No can do, Anna! You're in for the ride, now!"

Anna continued screaming, and Elsa couldn't help but laugh. Anna was hysterical. They were almost there. She didn't think Anna could scream any louder, but the second the rope causing them to ascend let go with a _click, _her screams were utter terror.

Gravity had their way with them as they plummeted to the ground. Even then, Elsa let out a little scream during the free fall. Finally, the rope ran out of slack and the harness jerked them suddenly, gliding into a pendulum-like swinging. Anna's hysterics finally subsided and the two girls found themselves laughing with joy and they surged back and forth through the air.

Elsa grinned when she saw Anna waving at the other counselors on the ground as they reached the peak on both sides. She glanced over to see Anna's eyes alight with excitement, no longer contorted in fear. Her still-tight grip on Elsa's hand betrayed her, though.

"Wow, the view is beautiful up here," Anna whispered to Elsa, looking over to the other girl.

"Yeah," Elsa said simply. This is completely different than she had imagined spending her day, but oh, it was infinitely better. As long as it involved Anna.

Kristoff stepped in front of them as their swinging momentum was beginning to fail. "Alright, grab the loop when you come back next time," he shouted, holding up a long metal pole with a metallic loop at the end. The two girls nodded, enjoying their last back-and-forth.

* * *

Dancing around, bouncing on the balls of her feet, Anna dragged Elsa away from the line. "That. Was. So. Much. Fun!" Anna said rather loudly, she whipped around quickly back to Elsa. "Can we do it again? Please, please, please?" Anna pleaded like a small child for another piece of candy.

_I can't deny this girl a thing. _Elsa nodded, just simply enjoying the other girl's presence. For once since she had met the girl, she didn't feel stressed when she was around Anna. It was almost a comfortable relieving feeling, being with her.

In the end, the two girls rode the swing three more times before Anna's voice was so raw from screaming. She had insisted on screaming, even though she assured Elsa she was no longer scared of the ride. It just made it more fun, especially with Elsa.

* * *

A/N: * Check on my profile and click on the video that says giant swing. You will get a good idea of the basis for the camp that I'm using for the setting and also see the terror that is the giant swing. :D

Sorry for the delay! I was going to post this Saturday but it wasn't ready. Sunday came and went, but I spent all day out and about. So here I am on Monday with an extra long chapter! Enjoy! I don't even know why I explained this.


	8. Chills

"C'mon, it'll be fun. I've never been, so it should be fun," Anna pleaded, tugging on Elsa's arms, dragging her across the bridge, narrowly avoiding the spray from Olaf and Hans who were manning the water canons below the bridge. The older girl let out a little squeak as Olaf managed to land a direct hit of the icy cold water on her as Anna pulled her down across the bridge to the other side of the creek.

"It's not fun, I promise!" Elsa shouted, ducking behind one of the cannons opposite of Hans, pressing the spray button much harder than needed to, but smiled with a satisfied smile as the water arced right onto the tall red-headed boy's body. He quickly retaliated, a cocky grin flashing across his face.

He ran down the far bank down to another cannon that was harder for Elsa to reach. "C'mon, Snow Queen, you're not a cold-hearted monster are you? You already got me once!" Hans called as Elsa fired one icy blast of water after another. She couldn't help but giggle as Hans let out a shrill cry when the cold water struck him in the back. She was only excited for a moment before she received a taste of her own medicine. Elsa glared across the creek to see Olaf standing by a water cannon. She frowned.

"Olaf!" Elsa shouted, now thoroughly soaked. Olaf shrugged and simply pointed to Anna was inching away from Olaf. Elsa hadn't noticed her run back across the short bridge. "Oh, so that's how were doing things, traitor?" Elsa called, only to receive a sly grin from Anna.

"I'll stop if you promise to go with me~" Anna sang, running to another mounted gun, rapidly jamming the fire mechanisms to launch the icy streams of water at her friend.

"No way!" Elsa narrowly dodged out of the way of the incoming liquid projectile, but the rocks which the cannons were mounted on were extremely slippery. The next thing she knew, she was encased in the cold mountain water. Elsa surfaced, relishing in the chilly water. She treaded water, trying to pull of her tennis shoes as she floated. "Anna, catch!"

"Wha- I don't want your shoes! Agh-" Anna was assaulted by Elsa's sopping wet shoes. "Hey, now!" Anna grinned, pulling off her own shoes before plunging into the water after the blonde. Two more splashes followed her. Olaf and Hans followed the current of the deep creek over to the other two girls.

Anna gave a little shiver, treading water slowly next to Elsa. "Damn, this mountain is so cold."

Elsa smiled faintly at the girl, "I think it feels great, to be honest."

"You're weird," Anna whispered, shooting the girl a mysterious grin.

Elsa frowned for a moment, only to receive a chilly blast of water in her face. Even submerged up to her neck in water and she was still assaulted by water. She turned to look at Anna, but only to realize it had been Olaf who had sent the little tidal wave to her face. She gave a pout to her lanky friend who simply beamed at her with the happiest face he could manage in the ice-cold water.

"Thanks for inviting me, guys!" A voice still on the rocky bank shouted. The group of four turned around in the water to see Kristoff stripped down to shorts before cannon-balling into the creek. Everyone received more than their fair share of cold water to the face. Olaf spluttered, but quickly went over give Kristoff a good splashing.

As Elsa brushed the loose strands of damp from her face, she realized that Anna was clinging to her arm. The current had drifted them to a shallower part of the creek so that they could stand in the soft sand at the bottom. _Do something, genius. _Elsa pulled her arm from Anna's grasp, pulling her arms in tightly around herself. _Not that! You are an idiot. _Elsa glanced down for a moment, trying to read the confused expression on the freckled-girl's face, but couldn't discern the expression. She looked up to see that they were both receiving strange looks from Hans, who just simply looked away when they noticed his staring.

"What was that about?" Anna whispered, only to receive a shrug from Elsa. The younger girl let out a little squeak, turning to face Elsa directly. "_Now _will you go with me? Please?" Anna pleaded, pulling Elsa's hands up. Elsa let out a groan and finally a small nod. Anna did a little dance in the water that Elsa couldn't help but blush at. Elsa felt Anna once again tugging on her arm.

Elsa glanced at Anna. "Now?" she asked, pushing herself up onto the rocky bank before coming to a standing position. She could still hear the guys horsing around in the water. The blonde glanced back for a moment to see some of three-way water wrestling going on. Smiling, she turned back to Anna to see her feverishly nodded.

"Of course now! C'mon, go put on some dry clothes and meet me back her in fifteen minutes. On the dot!" Anna said, putting on a feigned-commanding tone, trying to fight the grin that always found her face. _There's not a way I could possibly ever say no to that face._

"Okay, okay," Elsa said heading back across the bridge where Anna was waving goodbye to the boys. For a moment, she caught Hans' eyes. She froze. Elsa couldn't quite place the emotion spreading across the boy's face, but anger probably would have been something to describe it. It passed after a moment. _The hell is wrong with Hans today? Whatever, he's always been a creep anyway. _

* * *

Elsa sat on the bridge, her legs between the posts, hanging over the water. It had been half an hour since the two had departed and yet Anna had not returned. The blonde sighed, brushing a fallen strand of hair back into her still very-damp bun.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Elsa heard someone shouting. She craned her head to see Anna flailing about, running over to Elsa. "Sorry," Anna huffed, out of breath from running.

Chuckling lightly, Elsa reassured Anna that it was okay. "I haven't been waiting long," Elsa lied, having been sitting her double the time that Anna had suggested they meet back here. "Ready?" She asked, receiving a happy nod from the younger girl.

_I'm not ready, but to hell with what I want. _Elsa thought, leading the way up the gravel path. To their left way the divide for the low ropes course. Not where they were headed. She could tell Anna wanted to lead the way, but she stayed back since she didn't know the way. The two kept walking, Elsa taking a small lead, but the two were still walking nearly side by side.

"We can still turn back; this hike is by far easy," Elsa said, concern for the younger girl evident.

"I'm ready, I was born ready. Let's do this!" Anna was going through some sort of pep-talk to herself to which Elsa could only laugh. She received a glare from Anna.

Twenty minutes later, the level gravel path had transformed into what looked like a dry river bed, the banks taller than both of them. The path was sloping downward rapidly and becoming increasing narrow, leading to thing switchbacks that laced the side of the mountain.

"Okay, when you said this wasn't easy, you weren't kidding," Anna breathed, leaning against a rock for a moment to catch her breath.

"Um," Elsa paused, "This isn't the hard part." Anna's eye grew wide in disbelief. The blonde pointed to a place about a hundred feet away. "There is where it gets hard." Anna squinted.

The two walked until they reached the point that Elsa had mentioned. It was nothing more than a tiny trail, no more than foot wide. It was steep, incredibly so. The two eventually resorted to climbing down on their backs, walking almost like crabs to avoid sliding down the rocky sloped 'path.' Eventually, the little waterbed trail gave way to sheer rock face. The only reason that Elsa knew this was the right path was because of the roped that was tied between tied two trees, one at the bottom and one at the top. She grabbed the rope and gracefully slid the rock, jumping across the small stream of water at the bottom.

She looked up to see Anna glaring at the rope and then at Elsa. "Okay?"

"No-" Anna called as she wobbled to keep her balance on the sheer rock face. "Shit," Anna shouted as her foot slipped at from under her as she was about halfway down the rock.

"Anna!" Elsa said, pushing herself up the rock face but it was too steep to go back up, only down. The blonde extended her arms, tripping up the rock, at the perfect instant at Anna cascaded down the rock into her arms. The two fell down in a tumble of arms, legs, and rocks with a few scrapes to boot.

Groaning, Elsa opened her eyes to see Anna flopped down across her stomach, her arms still wrapped around the other girl. Anna stood up gingerly.

"That was like some kind of crazy trust fall," Anna giggled, extending hand to Elsa who gratefully took the helping hand. Re-securing her backpack, Elsa set off after Anna who had run off from her, shouting something about water.

Elsa emerged from the tree line to see a massive waterfall and lagoon which flowed into the river that flowed throughout the camp.

"Wow," Elsa heard Anna breath as she stepped next to her. The two stood on the edge of the rock face before the water dropped sharply into the seemingly bottomless pool before them. The water dappled in the soon as the waterfall pounded across the water. The waterfall had to be a hundred foot tall. "C'mon!" Anna shouted, stripping off her shoes, then her shirt, revealing a neon green and black bikini.

The heat flared in Elsa's cheeks, quickly averting her gaze.

"You're not gonna swim?" Anna called, drawing Elsa's eyes back to the other girl. Her eyes wandered, gazing at her freckled shoulders that trailed all the way down her skin.

"I, uh, yeah. Hold on," Elsa said, pulling her shoes and clothes off, pulling her bun, letting her long, white-blonde hair drape over her shoulders. She tightened the halter strap on her ice-blue swimsuit.

"Wow, Elsa," Anna mumbled who looked the girl over from head to toe. "You've got abs," she said, poking the girl harshly in the stomach.

"Hey!" Elsa smacked at the Anna's freckled hand, a grin spreading across her face. "I've got muscles in my arms, too," Elsa's grin grew only larger. _Don't do it, don't do it. Fuck it, I'm going to do it. _Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's slight torso who immediately begin to squirm under the pressure followed by objections.

"Are you ready?" Elsa asked to which immediately shouted in Elsa's ear no. "Alright, let's do this!" Elsa hoisted the smaller girl up and ran full force toward a rock that was lifted above the water. She leapt off the edge and the two girls tumbled towards the water. She let go of Anna mid-fall and the two hit the water with huge grins plastered to their face.

Before the blonde could resurface, she could feel arms wrap around her as she pushed to the top of the water. Anna was hugging her the two broke the surface of the sunlit water.

"Thank you for bringing me up here, it's beautiful." Anna stared up at Elsa, her turquoise eyes shining brightly, her cheeks glowing red, not from the light of the afternoon sun beaming down.

_Too close, much too close. _Elsa heart began pounding when she realized the proximity of Anna, their bodies pressed together is the chilly water, the only movement was their legs treading water in sync. _I'm going to hate myself for this later, _Elsa thought as she desperately fought against her heart, shoving the other girl deep under the water, pulling herself down with her.

Anna began to flail and fight away from Elsa's arms, resurfacing a moment later. The cool water had the desired effect on both girls and they parted. Anna gave Elsa a sidelong glance before swimming over to the rocks below the waterfall, letting the rushing water fall cool against her back. She only smiled faintly at Elsa who doing nothing more than floating above the water enough for her nose still get oxygen.

Elsa had felt it and she was pretty sure Anna had felt it too. Elsa couldn't do it. _Not again. Be the good girl you always have to be. No matter how hard you try, you'll always disappoint. _The blonde felt the warm tears trickling down her face into the cold water. She was thankful for the distance between herself and Anna now. She looked up, and saw Anna waving her over. Despite her better judgement, Elsa began to swim over to the rocky area that Anna was lounging in.

As she pulled herself up onto the rock, Anna stepped out of the massaging spray of the waterfall to sit beside her, shoot her a glance that was understanding.

"Elsa, I get it. You don't have to say anything, okay? I- just, let's just have fun, alright?" Anna said, fumbling with her wet hair.

"I-," Elsa pulled her arms tightly together, looking lost. "Okay." _Good job. You fucked up. Again. Elsa, you suck at life. And now Anna thinks you're weird. Oh, I should just say that I'm attracted to her. But what if she's not? Then what was that a minute ago? I don't even know what the hell is going on anymore. _

Deciding that silence was going to be her new best friend, Elsa sat quietly beside Anna, watching as the girl fiddled with the edge of her swim suit. Against her better judgement, Elsa reached her hand over, taking Anna's in her own. Elsa could hear the sharp intake of breath and Anna inhaled, looking softly up at Elsa, a smile lingering on her lips.

"Okay," Anna and Elsa whispered nearly at the same time. It an admission on both parts. That everything was okay and alright, that nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

Author's Note: Hello~ Here's another longer chapter. Finally, the two have established _some _sort of contact. I'm sorry, the angst is not done, but there will be some fluff here and there. I don't know where I'm going with this story, but I've got a few ideas; a few you won't like and I am sorry in advance.

Reviews help me write faster. Proven science, I swear. ;D


	9. Pain

_A/N: I am completely overwhelmed by the response to this story. Thank you all so very much._

_By the way, the cliff is not like 90 degrees, it's more like 60-70 degrees, so it's slanted with flat, squarish rocks with lots of roots. Still dangerous. Sorry if it was confusing._

* * *

"We should probably head back, you know," Elsa mumbled, her cheek pressed against the redhead's hair, Anna's head resting in the crook of her neck. They were reclining in the warm afternoon sunshine, waiting to dry off a little before setting back on their rigorous hike.

Anna sat up, never unlacing her delicate fingers from Elsa's pale hand. Her eyes were giving Elsa the best pleading look she could manage.

"I'm serious, Anna. We've been gone for nearly four hours."

"What? Really? It seems like it's only been such a short time," Anna said, crossing her legs against the warm white stone. Anna sighed, "Alright, lets go." Her tone was a little bit remorseful as she pushed herself to her feet, giving Elsa a helping hand up. Within just a few minutes, both girls were suited back up in their regular clothes.

"We go back a different way, since it's nearly impossible to get back up that rock we came down. We have to do a bit of climbing, but there's a rope, so it's not that big of a deal," Elsa said, pointing towards a small path that was nearly hidden. It ran close to the water. Anna just nodded, falling in step behind Elsa since the path was much too narrow to walk hand-in-hand, much to Elsa's dismay.

_Her hand fits so perfectly in my own. God, if only this could last forever... but it can't. _Elsa frowned at the thought of going back to camp and pretending like the entire afternoon hadn't happened. That was the way it was supposed to be. _Will Anna hate me when we go back? She surely will. _Doubt picked at Elsa's heart like an icy comb.

Elsa's thoughts were interrupted by a small throat clearing. "You okay? You got really quiet," Anna asked, peering up at Elsa who had turned her head back to look at the younger girl. She feigned a smile and nodded.

After only a moment, the thin path by the river gave way to a sharply terraced rock face. Roots, dirt, and jagged rocks loomed before them. Forcing back a smile, Elsa watched as Anna dashed up to the rock face and quickly started to ascend them. Well, quickly was an understatement.

"Whew, this is ridiculous. Why aren't there just stairs?" Anna huffed as Elsa climbed beside her, who simply shrugged.

"There's a rope over there, you know," Elsa suggested, angling her head towards a large, thick rope that ran parallel to the intense rock slope.

"What? Nah, this is easy peasy. No," Anna paused, inhaling deeply, "problem!"

Elsa scaled the rocks with ease, having grown used to the rigorous climbing exercise long ago. She sat cross legged at the top of the rocks, waiting for Anna to join her.

"How the hell... Elsa... Are you like... Superman or... something?" Anna wheezed, resting on one of the flatter rocks to adjust the straps on her backpack.

"No, I'm just in better shape than you," Elsa smiled, teasing.

"Rub it in." Anna stood to her feet, throwing her backpack back onto her shoulders, all too haphazardly.

"Anna!" was all that Elsa had time to shout before she watched the momentum of the younger girl's heavy backpack throw her off balance, gaping in horror as she saw her foot slip off the edge, shouting and crying as the girl tumbled off the edge, only coming to a halt when her body plummeted to the rocky landscape twenty feet below.

In the blink of an eye, Elsa raced down the cliff face, nearly tripping herself. She jumped down from rock to rock like she had done this every day for her life. She could see Anna laying there. She wasn't moving. Elsa quickened her deathly pace towards the girl until she once again found herself at the bottom of the cliff, new scrapes from sliding down the rock face marring her pale skin. It meant nothing to her as she threw herself to the ground at Anna's side.

"Anna! Anna!" Elsa shouted, shaking the limp girl. She was unconscious. _Shit, shit, shit. This wasn't supposed to happen! _Elsa looked the girl over to see a thin trail of blood oozing from the back of her skull. She checked for her pulse, it was there, but faint.

_Dammit, dammit. _Elsa thought, rummaging through her backpack. "Where's my walkie!? Where is it?" She was growing frantic, dumping the contents of her bag out onto the dirt. There was no walkie. There was no calling for help that Anna so desperately needed. Elsa's eyes caught the rope she kept in her bag for the low ropes course, a determined frowned forming on her face.

"Alright, Anna. Let's go," Elsa muttered, hoisting the unconscious girl onto her back before using the rope to secure her hands and feet to her own body. She had an Anna backpack. Double checking the ropes, Elsa set back to climbing up the rock face. It was the only option.

The first trip up had been easy with practice, but now with the weight of another human strapped to her back, it was excruciating and difficult. Her hands had an endless number of scrapes from gripping the rocks and roots so tightly. Her legs cried out from the strain.

"Do it for Anna, get her home," became Elsa's mantra as she struggled up. Elsa paused for a moment, glancing over to her shoulder where Anna's head was resting. She could see the blood from the girl's wound dripping onto her shirt, having already bled through the small cloth she had wrapped around it. At this, Elsa kept on.

Finally, Elsa pulled herself to the top of the last angular rock, heaving in oxygen and letting her muscles relax for only a moment before she took off at jog down the gravely path. They were still nearly a mile and a half from camp. A mile and a half that was nearly all up hill, with a few steep declines. Elsa didn't care. Getting Anna help was all that mattered right now.

She ran at a murderous pace, thankful for years and year of track and cross country making her legs strong and sturdy. But that didn't stop her from stumbling several times. Pain rocketed through her body as her knees and forearms collided with the gravel-dirt surface, scoring her skin. She spat, pushing herself up again. They were getting so close.

Her body collapsed to ground again. "Fuck, I can't keep going." Her chest heaved, out of breath. Elsa lay motionless on the ground, completely exhausted. _Do it for her, if anyone, do it for her. _Struggling to her feet once more, she pushed forward.

"Don't worry, Anna. Don't worry, Anna. Please be okay," Elsa reassured then pleaded. Her whole body rioted with the ache of carrying the girl on her back and the pain of falling. Finally, the last hill to camp was in sight. She could hear of the creek rushing. Just a few more steps and she could call for help.

"Help! Someone help!" She screamed, running forward at a sprint now, her screams coming between ragged intakes of breath.

Elsa had never been so relieved to see the familiar blond hair of her friend Kristoff. He was rushing down the last leg of the hill. He must have been at the bridge. _Thank goodness._

"Elsa!" He shouted, his eyes growing wide when he saw the bloody mess that Elsa had become on her journey back, only growing wider still when his eyes caught the limp figure strapped to Elsa's back. "Anna! Oh no!" The blond rushed over as Elsa collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

Kristoff knelt down beside them, pulling the ropes away from Elsa, hoisting Anna up in his arms. The normally red-faced girl was pale. Paler than Elsa.

"Get... help. Go!" Elsa shouted as Kristoff, shoving the man away, watching as strong Kristoff ran up the final hill, radioing in the emergency. Elsa watched as he took her to safety as she lay on the ground, wincing as the gravel below her dug into her skin. Her skin. _I'm covered in blood and I don't even know whose it is anymore. _

The blonde-haired girl stumbled to a stand and limped forward, much, much slower now that Anna's safety was guaranteed in Kristoff's strong arms.

"Elsa!"

Elsa's head shot up, seeing Olaf's skinny figure sprinting down the hill to her. She spotted Hans' ginger hair following close behind.

"Shit, Elsa! What happened?" Olaf asked, rushing under Elsa's arm to help her walk. Hans' took the other side and together they helped Elsa's tired and beaten form up to the infirmary, where Elsa told what had happened in a tired, worn voice.

* * *

"Where's Anna?" Elsa demanded, stumbling onto her now very-bandaged legs an hour later. They had refused to mention Anna until Elsa had let them tend to the deep scrapes that lined the front of her body. Blood was still caked on her blue tank top.

"Your dad and a couple other counsellors drove her into the city to the hospital. She's got a concussion and needs to have an x-ray," Olaf informed her, putting his arm around Elsa. _I haven't even known her for two weeks and I've already endangered her life. I'm literally the worst. _

"They'll be back soon," Olaf reassured her.

"Was... was she awake?" Elsa asked, looking over to Kristoff.

"She woke up for a minute, mumbled something about you, and then passed back out," Kristoff said, frowning at Hans who was lurking in the corner, just glaring at them. "What the hell is wrong with you, man? You've been in a foul mood all day."

Hans turned her cold gaze to Kristoff and then to Elsa. "It's not _my _fault that this happened," he exclaimed, before pointing sharply at Elsa before storming out. Kristoff followed him with an angry stomp in his steps. Olaf and Elsa could hear them shouting at each other from inside the sterile white room.

"It's not your fault, you know," Olaf said, leaning against Elsa. She fumbled with the braid that had come loose, now just a loose ponytail hanging over her shoulder. There was splotches of red. _It is my fault. I could have made her not go. I could have helped her up. I could have-_

"Elsa. It's not your fault."

Elsa looked up, fighting the warm sting of tears that were welling up in her eyes. Olaf had a warm smile on his face, his warm eyes reassuring her. "C'mon, let's go wait for, Anna. I bet she'll be excited to see you when she gets back."


	10. Hey

Elsa hadn't been so relieved to feel a pair of arms wrapped around her in such a long time.

"What happened to your arms and legs, Elsa!?" Anna asked, recoiling quickly back on the bed from their rapid embrace as she felt the thick bandages wrapped around the older girls arms. Elsa simply shrugged the question off.

"It doesn't matter. The fact that you're alive does," Elsa said quietly, casting a sidelong glance at Kristoff who was lurking in the corner of the hospital room. Anna had been out of it for two days. "You're such a klutz, Anna." Elsa ever-so-lightly flicked the freckled girl's bandaged forehead.

"Yeah, but... okay. I am," Anna paused, but a moment later a familiar smile flickered to life on her face, "Do you want to see my stitches?"

"Ew, no one wants to see your bloody scalp," Elsa chuckled as the other girl quickly undid the bandages to which Elsa mumbled about whether or not that was such a good idea. Anna simply shrugged, pulling off the last wrap of cloth gingerly, angling her head to Elsa. The blonde couldn't help but cringe when she saw Anna's tender skull. She could see where the deep gash had been, now sown together with the sutures. A large bruise surrounded the cuts on her head.

"Oh, Anna," Elsa breathed, "I'm so sorry." She couldn't help but feel the surge of tears forming until she felt Anna's warm, but weak grip around her arm.

"Elsa." Anna's cool, fierce gaze met her own, a sudden realization flashing through them. "Don't you _dare _blame yourself for my being an idiot. No matter how you look at this, it was all my own fault. Not yours."

Anna's grip had not loosened on Elsa's arm, nor could the older girl look away. There was a ferocity in her tired eyes. Anna wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"All... alright." At that, Anna released her grip on Elsa's pale arm, the smile quickly returning to her still-pale face. _No matter what you say, Anna, it will always be my fault that you were hurt._

"Okay, get some more rest, kiddo. They're letting you go this afternoon, right?" Kristoff stepped up, leaning against Anna's bed rails. Anna nodded gingerly, trying not to shake her head about too much. "We'll get our your hair then."_  
_

After a soft goodbye, Elsa followed Kristoff out of the hospital room into the hallway. They were nearly to the hospital elevator when Kristoff stopped in his tracks, turning to face Elsa, his taller frame dwarfing her.

"Alright, spill it." Kristoff crossed his arms, a smug grin crossing his face.

Elsa looked up, a confused look spreading across her. "Huh?"

"Elsa Arendelle. I have known you since we were twelve years old and have never seen you act the way you do towards Anna."

Glancing away, Elsa felt the heat flush immediately to her face. "I don't know what you mean," Elsa mumbled indignantly, shuffling over to the elevator, repeatedly pressing the button, as if that would make the elevator come any faster. She considered just hopping in the elevator and closing the door shut before Kristoff could get on.

"You know _exactly _what I mean," Kristoff's stared at Elsa, whose back was now turned.

_Ding. _The elevator finally slid open and the blonde slipped through the doors. Kristoff quickly followed, to which Elsa frowned at.

"No, I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Kristoff." Elsa smashed the button for the bottom floor, much harder than necessary. In the quiet of the elevator and under the close scrutiny of Kristoff, Elsa twiddled her fingers.

"You. Anna. Spill it," Kristoff said, pressing the emergency stop button on the elevator.

"Hey!" Elsa shouted, scrambling to depress the button again. Kristoff's larger body blocked the way. "Not cool, Kris." Frowning, Elsa punched Kristoff in the gut, not harshly, but enough to get him to slide out of the way. She released the emergency stopper and the elevator continued its descent.

"Elsa."

"What?" Elsa met Kristoff's gaze, frowning at the taller man.

"You like her, don't you?"

Even though Elsa knew that what Kristoff had been edging at since the beginning of the conversation, hearing it out loud was just so foreign and strange. "I-I.." Elsa's voice cracked, suddenly lost in the phrase. _I like her so much. I didn't conceal it. Kristoff saw right through it. If he did, then who else has? Shit. _

"It's okay, Elsa," said Kristoff, a soft look gracing the gentle grin on his face.

_He knows... and he doesn't hate me? _"What?"

"It's okay if you like Anna, you know. I mean, I totally had this crush fling on her, but after seeing the way you two act around each other. I could never get between that." The elevator came to a halt and the doors slowly opened. A few people filtered in the door, but Elsa stood locked in place.

"Really?" Elsa whispered softly as Kristoff tugged her off the elevator. A surge of emotions flooded through the girl. Anger at Kristoff for confronting her, relief that he was alright with it, fear that not everything would be the same, apprehensive at the thought of acknowledging the fact that she liked Anna, and so much more.

The two said little after that as Elsa became absorbed in her thoughts as Kristoff drove them back to camp. The camp was isolated and remote, almost an hour from the hospital. Leaning with her arm against the armrest, Elsa let her gaze wander off the mountain path through the bright, leafy green trees that zipped by in a blur. She could faintly see her own lightly-freckled reflection in the window. Her eyes were alive, but the dark circles betrayed the lack of sleep over the past two days. She'd been too worried about Anna to get any good sleep. Between managing her campers for the week, recovering from her own scarred body, and worrying about the other girl, she had run herself ragged.

"So, what have you two _done?" _Kristoff asked, snapping Elsa out of her daze.

"Kristoff!" Elsa said, shooting a sharp glance at him, but his eyes were focused on the winding road ahead.

"What? C'mon, you can't tell me you two aren't like a real thing yet? I mean, seriously, Elsa? You've got no game." Kristoff chuckled, glancing at Elsa who was frowning at him.

"You're one to talk, Mr. I-Talk-To-Stuffed-Reindeer!" Elsa grinned as Kristoff scrambled under the comment.

"Okay, you win this round, Blondie," Kristoff mumbled angrily, turning his gaze again to the road.

* * *

The summer sun was relentless on Elsa's pale skin as she sat on the worn wooden bench outside of the Lodge. She glanced at the phone in her lap. It was nearly three, when Anna had said that she would be back. She still had to be checked out by the doctors for discharge before she could leave, but there had still been time for Elsa and Kristoff to visit that morning. It had been such a relief for Elsa to that Anna had a bright light still in her eyes, even though her body was still tired. Elsa could feel the fatigue in her own small frame.

Just on the horizon of the hill that the parking lot was perched on, Elsa could see a black car crawling up the hill. Just a tiny red speck in the front seat was Anna. Elsa felt an unbridled joy race through as the car approached. _Should I stand up and run over, or does that seem to eager? God, I'm glad she's out of the hospital. Just sit here, weirdo. Stay. _

Within a few moments, the car had slid into a parking space. Anna stumbled out of the car, walking in a slow walk-run to Elsa, immediately wrapping her arms around the taller, older girl in a weak hug. An older woman with a familiar red hair stepped out of the car after Anna, a warm, tender smile on her face.

"Hey," Elsa said quietly into Anna's ear as they were still locked in their embrace.

"Hey, yourself. By the way, I'm never letting go, because my mom told me what you did."

At that, Elsa released her arms from Anna's frame, looking down to the girl. "What?" _I didn't want to her find out that she's the reason I have all these bandages._

"Elsa. I would have died without you. They said another hour and I would have bled out. I had four blood transfusions, that's how close I was to... you know, well, dying." Anna's gentle blue-green eyes looked up Elsa, freezing the girl. At this distance, she could see how truly pale Anna was. Weak and small, but so very alive in this moment. Anna broke away from the hug, taking Elsa's arms in her own, examining the bandages covering her forearms and down the the gauze wrapped around her legs. A questioning look from Anna. Elsa nodded weakly.

With nimble, delicate fingers, Anna unraveled the white cloth from Elsa's right arm. A small gasp escaped the younger girl when round after round revealed a large number of scratches that weren't so deep, but there were still many scratches that were deep enough to look very painful. "Oh, Elsa," Anna breathed, running her hands ever-so lightly over the indentions in Elsa's skin.

"I might have... fallen a few times. I'm sorry I wasn't stronger," Elsa said, her voice low and tired, as she rewrapped her arm.

"Please don't apologize anymore." The look Anna gave her stopped any rebuttals on the situation, feeling the heat flush to her face with her fierce, warm gaze. Someone cleared their throat, gaining the attention of the two girls in an instant.

Elsa looked up to see a woman that she had almost not seen earlier. She resembled Anna so much, the relation was not even questionable.

"Oh, this is my mom, Elsa. Mom, Elsa. Elsa, Mom. Er, Kathleen Frifalk," Anna chuckled awkward, gesturing between the two for a short introduction.

If the heat in Elsa's cheeks was a lot a moment ago, standing before Anna's mother intensified it tenfold, realizing that she had witnessed the entire scene unfold between her and Anna just then.

"I, uh, it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Frifalk." The blonde-haired girl smiled nervously, only to receive a warm grin in return.

"Nice to meet you as well, Elsa. Anna has told me a lot about you."

"Mom!" Anna shouted, frowning at the older woman who only gave a sly grin to her daughter.

"Anna has said a lot about me?" Elsa asked, a confused expression flooding her face, glancing between the two.

Mrs. Frifalk simply nodded. "Well, Anna, dear, I'd best be going. It's quite the drive back home. But, if you need anything, you don't hesitate, okay?" Anna hugged her mother and they said there goodbyes. When the car disappeared, Elsa felt Anna's delicate fingers wrap in her own. The feeling was like a static shock, but enticing and exciting. A permanent shock of exhilaration.

"Hey," Anna said again, looking up into Elsa's eyes.

"Hey," Elsa breathed. The word was so simple and yet intoxicating.

"Thank you for saving my life."

"Any time." A relaxed feeling settled through Elsa, more relaxed and comfortable than she had been in such a very long time. Suddenly, Elsa heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the Lodge. In a quick glance, she saw the familiar figure of her father. In a heartbeat, Elsa released Anna's hand and scooted away from the girl ever so slightly. She received a hard glare from her father that faded as he glanced over to Anna.

"Ah, Miss Frifalk. Doing better, I presume?"

"Yes, sir!" Anna said, fiddling with the bottom of her t-shirt realizing why Elsa had reacted the way she had, not meeting Mr. Arendelle's stern gaze.

"Good, you've been relieved of all duties this week to recover..."

Anna and Mr. Arendelle spoke for a few moments while Elsa edged farther away from the girl as subtly as possible. A fear had gripped at her heart, making her heart pound relentlessly since her father had descended the steps. It only subsided when she had walked Anna back to her cabin and finally made it back to her own room.

_You almost slipped up that time, Els._

* * *

A/N: Whoo. I'm not sure how you guys feel about this chapter or the last one. Anyways, there is still one more angsty hill to climb on this roller coaster before our fun fluffy free fall. Still taking name suggestions for this story because "A Summer at Camp Arendelle" is hella lame. Thanks for reading~

P.S. YES FOR FRIENDLY BONDING TIME BETWEEN KRISTOFF AND ELSA. They seem like a great brotp. In case you were wondering, Elsa stayed at the summer camp all summer and Kristoff was only there for one week a year, but still they became good friends over the years and then eventually Kristoff became a counselor. You probably weren't wondering, though.


	11. Dreams

A/N: I do apologize. I usually post every 3-5 days, but last week I had two exams and a paper, and a research paper due. I was more than a little bit overwhelmed. I'm sorry, friends! To those that I promised the chapter at 4 pm, I hope I can meet that goal.

**TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS PART. ITALICIZED PART, STAY AWAY IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY ABUSE OF ANY KIND. SORRY FRIENDS WHO HAVE TRIGGERS!**

"I could always carry you, you know," Elsa suggested, watching as Anna stumbled down the tarmac path back to the cabins. She looked weak and ragged, her skin a pale yellow-gray, so different from the normal flushed and alive pallor that normally donned her face.

"Psh, Elsa Arendelle, if you suggest that one more time, I am going to make you get on my back. And we all know how that wold end. You have done more than enough Elsa and it's already cost you arm-and-leg. I'll be fine, besides we're almost back." Anna marched forward, picking up the pace taking a lead on Elsa's quiet strides. The blonde couldn't help but let the grin grow on her face. _Stubborn little Anna. _With stiff, sore legs, Elsa jogged up to catch up with Anna and resumed her walking.

They walked side by side in silence; it was comfortable. The only sounds were their feet shuffling against the pavement and the whistle of the wind in the tall green trees that surrounded them on every side. There was the faded distance of laugher and playful screams in the distance of the other counselors and campers playing a game on the soccer field. At least, Elsa was comfortable until she felt tentative fingers touching her unbandaged fingers, an electric shock rolling through her. Anna's hand gripped gingerly in her own.

Against her will, Elsa could feel that familiar fear aching at her heart. She pulled her hand softly from Anna's grip, looking down into Anna's tired eyes. They looked hurt and drained. _Oh how I wish, Anna, oh how I wish. _

"I-I can't, Anna. Not here," Elsa voice croaked out, her throat catching. Anna's frown faded into a gentle smile.

"It's okay, Elsa. It really is. I don't understand, but I realize this is hard for you. Something scares you about me and you feel like something will happen that you can't take back. I can see it written all over your face. Just... I'm here for you, like you've been there for me." With that, Anna walked away from Elsa, closing the distance between her and the cabins. Elsa made a move for her to stop, but pull back, pulling her arm her chest and gripping her wrist.

_I am scared... just not of you. _Elsa walked into her cabin, thankful for the blissfully cold air conditioning and the silence that pervaded the air. She had been given the week off of campers and rec duty to heal up and rest. Not that she'd been getting much rest lately. Now that Anna was up on her own two feet again, albeit wobbly, Elsa felt like maybe sleep would finally claim her as she crawled into her bed, even though it was still only mid-afternoon. Her limbs felt weary as they melted into the plush mattress. Her eyes closed over her dry, tired eyes.

* * *

_Footsteps thundered up the stairs, a reluctant pair in tow. Elsa let out of a small whimper as the grip around her arm tightened, her steel blue eyes flashing with fear. She was dragged up the final leg of the stairs and forced through a doorway, the floor surging up to meet her coldly. She didn't move, confusion flooding over her. _

_"Elsa. Stand up," a voice said, full of a rage that was calm and collected. The small blonde girl looked up to her father, her hurt and confusion evident as she slowly drew herself to her feet, wrapping her arms tightly into her chest._

_"I am very disappointed in you." Elsa's father crossed his arms tersely, glaring down at the girl. _

_A puzzled expression spread across Elsa's tender features. Disappointed? In his straight A, captain of the track team daughter? What had she done wrong? The girl stood there with her mouth slightly agape, fumbling for words to voice against his dispute._

_"I'm sorry?" She said, somewhat apologetically. Her arm still stung from his harsh grip. _

_"You're sorry? That's all you have to say for yourself? You're a horrible excuse for a daughter. I shouldn't even call you my daughter, you animal," Mr. Arendelle spat, his tone maintaining the calm viscousness. _

_At that, Elsa's heart skipped a beat, her pulse hammering, her chest filling with an anxiety and fear. "I-I, what?" Elsa croaked out. _

_"Don't play dumb with me, girl."_

_"I really don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Elsa shouted, suddenly angry with her father, his words cutting deep. Her rage was not calm like her father's. _

_"Zoe."_

_In the blink of an eye, anger contorted into shock on Elsa's face. How could he know? How could he possibly know about Zoe?_

_"I know all about your 'escapades' with Zoe and your perversive acts." Mr. Arendelle's face was cold and harsh. Elsa searched for words, but out of the thousands of thoughts racing through her brain, nothing came out. In the stark silence, the blonde simply stared, the shock still settling in. Her thoughts were filled of her tender afternoons after track practice with the nicest girl she'd ever met. Her name was Zoe. They'd been on the track team together since freshman year, never really talking too much. That was, __until the first practice of junior year. The captain and vice captain planned out the workouts for the rest of the team. They'd grown close, so close. She couldn't remember who had started kissing who, but it had been amazing, just so natural. Even so, Elsa and Zoe had both thought it best to keep everything pretty hush-hush. No one should have known about it. _

_Elsa lurched out of her thoughts as a fiery pain rocketed through her back, rough leather stinging through her thin tank top. She cried out, tears trickling out. She saw her father through watery eyes standing over as she double over, his belt in hand. Again, he raised his hand, striking her gentle skin. This time she grit her teeth and kept silent. The tears she couldn't fight, though. _

_"I'm s-sorry," Elsa choked out through half sobs, finally breaking now that her back was covered in welts from the belt. "I'll never do it again!" Elsa shouted, wrapping her arms so tightly around her knees where she had pulled tightly into a ball after the first few hits. "I'll never talk t-to her again. Or any other girls. I won't talk to any-anyone!" _

_Her father nodded, leaving her alone her in pain and tears. "No, no, no..." She whispered to herself over and over, sobbing into the carpet of her room, the hot tears burning her eyes, finally running dry. She had made such a mistake, and now she would be a failure. _

* * *

Elsa shot up, her clothes soaked in sweat, panting hard. She shook her head, brushing away the mix of sweat and tears, trying to clear away the dream that was reverberating much too loudly in her head. Four years hadn't been long enough to wash the memory from her brain. She reached her hand gingerly back to her back, patting the skin. The girl was only to relieved to feel the skin un-bruised. She looked around her, realizing it was dark now. Elsa saw that her bandages had come unraveled and wrapped all around her in her sleep.

She extricated her thin limbs from the cloth, looking down at the deep cuts that she could see even in the pale moonlight that filtered through her windows. A few of them had been opened during her dream, oozing dark red blood, staining her light blue sheets. Carefully, Elsa rewrapped her skin, sighing tiredly as her mind kept going back to her dream, back to the past. It was like a fresh wound that was constantly re-opened. Never healing and constantly infected. She was that wound and her heart was the knife.

A/N:

Wow, this was supposed to be longer. [cries] I'm sorry!


	12. Bullets

Author's Note: I really do sincerely apologize for the wait on this chapter. Life became extremely overwhelming all at once. I've been having a lot of health problems lately and sleeping whiles away a lot of my free time. Also, I'm leaving the country in two weeks, so that either means one of two things. One,  
updates all the time or not updates at all for a month. There will probably be little in between, but who knows? I hope this long-awaited chapter will live up to your standards.

* * *

Elsa propped her right fist under her jaw, her left hand loosely holding a fork, swirling the contents of her plate. She stared absently at the beige plastic plate as she ran the metal tongs through her mashed potatoes again, scoring it with even parallel lines. Sighing, she lifted her eyes to lazily scan the room, her eyes following the train of row upon row of empty tables, chairs stacked on top. It was late on a Friday night, dinner long over. Elsa couldn't exactly recall she'd been sitting here with her mostly-full plate, but the other workers had left more than an hour ago. Motivation to get up and go back to her cabin to do another form of nothing was lacking.

_Bzz. Bzz. _Elsa slowly glanced down to her backpack sitting adjacent to her on the wooden table. She could see her phone lit up through the mesh screening. Part of her just wanted to ignore it, but her curiosity of who could be texting her got the better of her. Rapidly typing in her passcode, growling in frustration as the first attempt gives her an error notification, Elsa slid open her texts. Surprise filled her when she realized that it wasn't just one text message, but there were at five text messages sitting in her inbox. Three from Anna, one from Kristoff, and one from Olaf. A slow smile crept onto her face as she read the texts. Anna sending her random texts about pizza and some obscure show she'd never heard of, telling Elsa that she had to watch it with her next weekend or some other time when they could marathon. The text from Olaf was something she couldn't quite make heads or tails of, but from what she could tell it had something to do with biochemistry. Olaf's texts never made a lot of sense, so she just went along with it. The text from Kristoff was the one that made her throw her backpack on and take her plate to the kitchen to clean up.

_"don't tell me you forgot about vg night. seriously, i know you've been all moody lately, but there's not way you're abandoning us. nope, not having it. now get your pretentious white-champagne-whatever ass down here." _

With a faint grin lingering on her lips, Elsa shoved her phone in the pocket of her mesh gym shorts and jogged out of the mess hall, glad that her skin no longer cried out when she moved, having done a good bit of healing over the course of the week. _I can't believe I forgot about tonight. _Elsa broke into a sprint as she cleared the stairs that led from the dining hall to the main path to the cabins, taking the path that led to Kristoff's cabin.

Bursting through Kristoff's door, Elsa inhaled the deep smell of junk food and everything bad for you that littered the table in the middle of the cabin. A large flatscreen had been set up in the middle of the room, the cords running out the back led to Kristoff's room. The bunk beds had been moved to the edges of the room and moved close together and were stripped of their mattresses. All of the mattresses were stacked together in front of the tv like a fortress of beds.

"Elsa!" Olaf cried, jumping up to the top of his half of the mattresses, smiling widely at her, completely ignoring the fact that he was being shot on screen. Elsa gave a little wave before tossing her backpack into the corner and scrambled up onto the mattresses, swinging her legs over the side to let them hang free. That is, if they hadn't collided with a certain redhead's ribcage.

"Ah!" Elsa screamed as her feet bumped into Anna, who was laying on her side at the bottom of the stack, one elbow propping up her head and the other laying gently on her side. Anna cocked her head, angling it up to look at her assailant. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Elsa, a smirk forming over freckled face. "Oh my gosh, Anna! I'm sorry, I didn't expect anyone to be there!" Elsa slid down to ground where Anna was as Anna pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged.

"It's oka-" Anna said, but was promptly cut off by Kristoff shoving a controller into Elsa's lap, roughly reaching over Anna to do so.

"Late again. Elsa, you're a slacker," Kristoff grinned, but frowned when he saw Elsa's deep blue eyes contorting sharply, clearly taking offense. "It was a joke, Els. Seriously. Hurry up and log on."

With a sigh, Elsa gripped to the controller and logged onto her account and signed into the game. Tonight was apparently Battlefield night. Personally, she preferred Minecraft nights. There was a lot less getting-shot involved. She glanced over to Anna.

"You're not playing?" Elsa asked, noticing that the other girl didn't have a controller. Anna just shook her head lightly. Her light blue eyes still looked tired and there were still the faint traces of dark circles under her eyes. Anna still wore the bandage around her head. Guilt flashed through Elsa again, feeling ultimately responsible for everything.

A sharp kick to her shoulder brought her to the present. With a harsh glance, she saw Olaf propped above her on the mattresses, his grin as wide as ever. "I've shot you like three times while you were spacing out on Anna, and I'm on your team," Olaf said matter-of-factly, clearly not caring about friendly fire. Elsa gave him a confused look before training her eyes on the screen to see her player character laying face down on the ground, a respawn banner on the screen. Frowning, Elsa gripped the controller and respawned. For a person who didn't particularly like first-person shooters, she wasn't half bad at them. Running from her spawn point, she followed her mini-map to where she could see Kristoff's man crouching behind a half-wall, eye to his sniper rifle. Kristoff mumbled something about flanking and so Elsa maneuvered her character to the far edge of the map, making sure to stay out of sight.

Two enemy players rushed at her, but she was quick with the pistol, trigger at the ready for two quick head shots. That set her in her gaming spirit, letting out a victory yell as she sprinted towards the encampment where the bombs were waiting for activation.

"Olaf! Stay out of sight, man," Kristoff mumbled harshly as Olaf flailed his character about on screen, dying time after time and cackling madly the whole time. Olaf clearly did not care that he was not helping his team one bit, but simply enjoyed drawing the enemy fire. He was doing a fine job at that, for sure, with his erratic jumping and kamikaze dashing through enemy lines. "Nevermind," Kristoff sighed as Olaf was killed once again.

Elsa crouched, slowly stalking behind a low wall. She peeked over the wall, only to have shots fired at her character by the two players that were guarding the base. She lobbed a grenade over the wall, sprinting around it while pulling out her assault rifle and firing it in the direction of the enemy soldiers. Several bullets found their targets and one of the soldiers dropped to the ground. The other one was not so unfortunate as he ducked behind one of the base's bomb targets as Elsa crept around the other side. She pressed the button to launch another grenade, but she was out.

"Shit," Elsa whispered to herself as she threw her herself over the wall, spraying the area with bullets. As she reloaded her gun, the player that had been hiding jumped out and fired at her in quick succinct. She watched as her health bar melted away. But, before she died, the character before her dropped to the ground. Smiling, Elsa saw the kill reader in the corner. Kristoff had sniped the guy from across the map. "Thanks, Kris," Elsa said as she set her character to rigging the bomb. Olaf's man ran up to her, spinning wildly in circles, firing his gun to the sky.

Elsa heard Anna let a little giggle as she watched her friend run circles around Elsa as she worked. Stealing a quick glance, she could see Anna's face forming into a gentle smile, her skin reflecting the blue glow of the tv. She was nibbling on popcorn, the bowl propped between her criss-crossed legs. _How am I actually in the presence of something so adorable? _Elsa thought as she fought to take her eyes off the girl, an ache forming in her chest the longer she stared. It was only then did she realize how close she was sitting next to Anna. There legs were touching, as well as their shoulders. Anna was leaning into the slightly taller girl's arm. Swallowing tensely, Elsa shifted minutely as to not disturb Anna, but still minimize the contact. Unfortunately, Anna noticed. Elsa cringed. But, there wasn't any sort of reaction. Anna simply looked at Elsa and turned back to the screen.

"You're about the blow up, I think," Anna said, pointing at the screen. The timer on the bomb Elsa had planted was down to the last second. As the counter reached zero, the base blew along with Elsa's character. It didn't matter so much because that meant that they had won that round. Olaf let out a victory shout and Kristoff pumped his fists into the air.

"Victory!" Kristoff shouted before he shoved a handful of chips into his mouth.

"Good job, guys," Anna said, setting her bowl of popcorn aside, drawing her knees to her chest.

"Do you want to play?" Elsa asked, offering her controller to Anna.

After a moment of contemplation, biting her lip, Anna took to the controller. "I don't know how to play, though." Elsa quickly ran over the button configuration while Kristoff lobbied them for the next round. They entered the next round, a death match.

Anna turned out to be a pretty decent player for her first time through. At the beginning, she played a bit like Olaf did, sporadically jumping and crouching and hiding in the bushes. Towards the end of the match, she stopped running scared from the other team and started to actually aim at them. Her kill count was low, but she had wildly improved from start to finish. Her determination was admirable.

Elsa helplessly watched with a soft smile as Anna got really into the game, leaning from side to side as if to dodge the virtual bullets, making frustrating noises whenever she was shot or killed. It was so cute every time she bit her lip in nervous frustration as an enemy approached. One time, Elsa thought Anna was going to throw her controller at the screen in anger as the enemy killed her right as she was about kill him.

"Oh, c'mon! You _saw _that right!? I totally shot that guy like seven times. He's a cheater. I'm telling you," Anna cried, throwing her arms up exasperatedly.

"Hackers," Olaf mumbled through a chip-filled mouth.

"Or maybe you just have bad aim, Anna," Elsa joked, only to regret it a moment later as she was assaulted with the kernels at the bottom of the popcorn bowl.

"Are you saying I have bad aim? Oh, that's what your saying! Hmph, whatever, I don't care; I don't even like this game!" Anna shouted, turning back to the game as she continued to fire at the enemies, completely ignoring the others now.

After another hour or so of round after round, they finally decided that they'd had enough Call of Duty for one night. Kristoff powered off the game and dashed over to his room, bringing out a box awfully wrapped in tacky paper.

"I'm leaving the camp for the day tomorrow and I probably won't see you, so I thought I'd go ahead and give you this! Happy Birthday, Els," Kristoff said, beaming as he shoved to package over Elsa's head and into her lap, leaning over the mattresses to get to her.

"Thanks, Kris," Elsa smiled, taking the package in both hands before ripping off the poorly wrapped paper off of an oddly shaped "object." Elsa frowned, looking at her present before looking back at Kristoff, a confused look rapidly spreading across her face.

"Happy twenty-first!" Kristoff grinned, nodding his head enthusiastically.

In her hands was a bottle that read 'Danzka Vodka.' "What..?" Elsa asked, looking from the bottle back to Kristoff.

"Bottoms up," Kristoff said with a small hand gesture to match, "Now get out of my cabin. I'm tired."

Olaf, Anna, and Elsa picked up there stuff as Kristoff kicked them out for the night. Glancing at her phone, Elsa saw that it was well after midnight. "Hmph, I guess I am twenty-one now," Elsa said quietly after they had said goodbye to Olaf whose cabin was closest to Kristoff's. Anna's and her own cabin were much farther away.

In the dark, Elsa could hear Anna smacking herself in the forehead. "I can't believe I forgot your birthday! I mean, you told me not long after we met that your birthday was in two weeks! Gosh, I am literally a huge idiot."

"It's not that big of deal, really. I nearly forgot myself. Kristoff had actually joked about buying me something like this for my birthday for years. I guess he wasn't joking, though."

"Yeah, but... I'll do something for you tomorrow! Or, today that is," Anna said as they walked quietly in the dark, the only light a thin beam from Elsa's flashlight. There was something comforting about the summer warmth and darkness, but also the silent dread of not knowing what's in the dark. It was an odd mix of feelings, but the night was peaceful more than anything with Anna. With a sharp inhale, Elsa decided the dark was more comforting that not and could contain her heart better than the light. She gently took Anna's swinging hand in her own, relishing the in the shock of the contact.

From the glow of the flashlight, Elsa could see the light reflecting off of Anna's teeth, her smile wide in the dark. Anna's grip tightened for a moment around her own in a reassuring motion. And so they walked in the shelter of the darkness back to their section of the campground with a quick goodnight and happy birthday.

* * *

Author's Note: Whattya know? A decently long chapter. Does this make up for the delay? No? Okay. Chapter 11 needs some re-working, though. I'll let you know if I update it.


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